Italy's family-run Elio Grasso estate is back with their highly-anticipated Barolos that marry classic bracing structures with a deliciously charming clarity of flavors and textures. The latest are particularly exciting for Barolo fans since they're from the long-anticipated 2021 vintage! Since 1978 they've been bottling their two vineyard plots separately; while they have distinct characters, both come from Monforte d'Alba's Ginestra vineyard area, known for its cooler climate and wines of finely-etched minerality.
The 2021 growing season was a fantastic one for the region, long and warm, tapering into a cooler Autumn harvest. The wines have a bit of 2019's firm, vibrant core and 2020's broader, open-knit character. Elio Grasso's traditional submerged cap fermentations, where the skins are kept under the fermenting juice for nearly two months, slowly extracted all the character of the vintage. Their 2021 Barolos have a saturated concentration of juicy berries and sensual florals, a copious, firm bed of sleek tannins and lifegiving inner vibrancy.
Elio Grasso's single-vineyard wines are special even in a category that's as special as Barolo: they are well-balanced, charmingly intense wines to spend time with, and to be enjoyed with equally special meals. As for all Barolos of this class, give these a few hours to breathe in the decanter. But the biggest reward will come from holding them in a cool, dark place for 5-20 years as they loosen up, then evolve into something even more ethereal and complex. Get these while they're here, as these limited bottlings usually disappear quickly!
Practices Organic Farming
From an adjacent hill, and with slightly more clay, this bottling has a denser and broader profile along with more tannic heft. More dark-toned fruit and a deeper balsam herb and spice base.
VINOUS 97 POINTS - "The 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is fabulous. Bright and transparent, with captivating depth, the 2021 is a stunning beauty. Enveloping balsamic notes make a strong opening statement that remains a theme here. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and blood orange all come alive in the glass. What a wine! [-01/25]
"... wraps around the palate with dark-toned fruit, new leather, incense, mocha, lavender and cloves. Ample and quite potent, the Ginestra marries volume with tremendous structural intensity. Time in the glass brings out layers of spice and balsamic-infused notes that are such signatures of the Ginestra district.[-01/26]" - Antonio Galloni
WINE ADVOCATE 97 POINTS - "The Elio Grasso 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté opens with intensely floral aromatics of rose and violet before unfolding into licorice, crushed flowers and a dense yet lifted aromatic core. The palate is broad and profound, combining power with elegance, as crunchy fruit texture and fine, chalky tannins carry the wine through a graceful and resonant close. Sourced from higher-elevation vineyards at 400–410 meters with a greater clay component and earlier harvest timing, this site-driven Barolo underscores the importance of precise phenolic maturity in shaping one of Gianluca Grasso’s most compelling wines to date."
The 2021 growing season was a fantastic one for the region, long and warm, tapering into a cooler Autumn harvest. The wines have a bit of 2019's firm, vibrant core and 2020's broader, open-knit character. Elio Grasso's traditional submerged cap fermentations, where the skins are kept under the fermenting juice for nearly two months, slowly extracted all the character of the vintage. Their 2021 Barolos have a saturated concentration of juicy berries and sensual florals, a copious, firm bed of sleek tannins and lifegiving inner vibrancy.
Elio Grasso's single-vineyard wines are special even in a category that's as special as Barolo: they are well-balanced, charmingly intense wines to spend time with, and to be enjoyed with equally special meals. As for all Barolos of this class, give these a few hours to breathe in the decanter. But the biggest reward will come from holding them in a cool, dark place for 5-20 years as they loosen up, then evolve into something even more ethereal and complex. Get these while they're here, as these limited bottlings usually disappear quickly!
Practices Organic Farming
From an adjacent hill, and with slightly more clay, this bottling has a denser and broader profile along with more tannic heft. More dark-toned fruit and a deeper balsam herb and spice base.
VINOUS 97 POINTS - "The 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is fabulous. Bright and transparent, with captivating depth, the 2021 is a stunning beauty. Enveloping balsamic notes make a strong opening statement that remains a theme here. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and blood orange all come alive in the glass. What a wine! [-01/25]
"... wraps around the palate with dark-toned fruit, new leather, incense, mocha, lavender and cloves. Ample and quite potent, the Ginestra marries volume with tremendous structural intensity. Time in the glass brings out layers of spice and balsamic-infused notes that are such signatures of the Ginestra district.[-01/26]" - Antonio Galloni
WINE ADVOCATE 97 POINTS - "The Elio Grasso 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté opens with intensely floral aromatics of rose and violet before unfolding into licorice, crushed flowers and a dense yet lifted aromatic core. The palate is broad and profound, combining power with elegance, as crunchy fruit texture and fine, chalky tannins carry the wine through a graceful and resonant close. Sourced from higher-elevation vineyards at 400–410 meters with a greater clay component and earlier harvest timing, this site-driven Barolo underscores the importance of precise phenolic maturity in shaping one of Gianluca Grasso’s most compelling wines to date."
