Elio Grasso - Barolo DOCG - Monforte d'Alba - Cru Casa Mate - 2019

Beloved 97+/100 Points Cru Barolo Monforte d'Alba - Ginestra from five star vintage 2019.

Ruby red wine with garnet glints. In the nose aromas of strawberry, hibiscus, incense, bitter cocoa, liquorice, eucalyptus and mineral tones. In the mouth the wine is full, creamy, fresh, red ripe fruit, elegant and a fantastic long finish with rounded tannins.

The Casa Maté vineyard is part of the Ginestra hill in Monforte d'Alba. The vineyards are located at an altitude of 300 to 350 meters. The soil type is mainly clay with chalky sandstone. The vineyard is planted with 4,500 vines per hectare. The oldest vines were planted in 1978. Part of the vineyard was expanded in the early nineties of the last century. Average age of the vines is 40 years in 2024.

The grapes are harvested manually from the end of September to the end of October. They are carefully selected for their quality. The grapes are then gently pressed. Fermentation takes place in large steel vats. The must is regularly pumped around. The wine matures for 30 months in large Slavonian oak barrels of 25 HL. The wine is then bottled. The wine refines in the bottle for at least 8 to 10 months before it is marketed.

About Elio Grasso:
In the seventies of the last century, the banker Elio Grasso went to Barolo to lead the family business founded in 1928. Since then, the company has been the heritage of the family, who make the most beautiful wines with great passion and ambition. Elio Grasso makes exclusively Cru wines. In total, Elio Grasso has 18 hectares of vineyards, all located near Monforte d'Alba on the Ginestra hill in the southern part of the Barolo DOCG.

Robert Parker - 97+/100 points

Very different from the Gavarini Chiniera, the 2019 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté shows more bite, structure and a bigger tannic impact. Fruit was harvested a bit earlier, but healthy grape skins allowed for 52 days of maceration. This wine shows beautiful intensity and fullness with dark fruit, earth, hazelnut and dark plum. Surrounded by forests, the greenery gives balance to this wine by moderating temperatures. In fact, this site saw up to 10 degrees Celsius drops in diurnal temperatures, leading to thick skins and ideal phenolic ripeness.

James Suckling 95/100 points

Plum and orange peel with some flowers such as violets on the nose. Medium to full body with tannins that build on the palate. Chewy and powerful. Traditional sensibility and nature to this. Try this after 2027.