2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate

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.

A complex Barolo with a layered nose of licorice, vibrant red cherries, blood oranges, sweet violets and earthy minerality. Full-bodied, it shows elegance of extraction with red fruit flavors, freshness and integration. Velvety and savory tannins with excellent length. Try from 2026.

The 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate displays a bit more ruby and deeper pigment in the glass and has notes of raspberry liqueur, sweet sage, pressed flowers, cedar, and licorice. It’s very pretty on the nose and carries more sapidity to the palate while also retaining lovely purity, with ripe tannins, slightly broader shoulders, and a long finish. Both of the Barolo have a tremendous amount to offer, but with distinctive personalities, and for my taste, this one has a slight edge. (I also wouldn’t be surprised if that were to flip with a different mood and tasting.) The perfumes of both the wines are exceptional in this fantastic vintage. Drink 2027-2057.