Elio Grasso Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté 2017 750ml

The 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate has a slightly darker profile of licorice, black cherry, and wood spice. The palate is generous and structured, with plum pit, mineral-rich earth, and dried orange blossom. These are wines with incredible aromatic complexity and depth. Drink 2025–2050. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is a dark, mysterious wine. Black cherry, menthol, tobacco, licorice, spice, new leather and pine meld together in a super-classic expression of Ginestra. Deep, rich and enveloping, the 2017 is so impressive in the early going. Here, too, the finesse of the tannins is remarkable. (Antonio Galloni)

The 2020 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate is super-impressive today. All the signatures of this site are wonderfully delineated in the glass. A rush of dark-toned fruit, leather, incense, licorice, dried herbs, mocha, lavender and plum saturates the palate. Bright acids pull it all together on the finish, where the imposing tannins are a reminder that the 2020 will need time in bottle.

The 2019 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is rich, dark and explosive. Dark-fleshed fruit, cloves menthol, licorice, scorched earth, leather and dried flowers are some of the notes that infuse the 2019 with character. Deep and resonant, with tremendous depth, the Ginestra is a wine of unbridled intensity. Swaths of tannin wrap around the huge, substantial finish. This virile, strapping Barolo is quite simply classic Ginestra.

Soils in the Ginestra vineyard show more moisture-retaining clay in their composition, making them better positioned to handle hot and dry vintages such as this. The Elio Grasso 2017 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté reveals soft concentration and extra richness; however, the aromatic nuances are well intact. I recall that the previous 2016 vintage took longer to come into focus, whereas this 2017 expression is open-knit and immediately accessible. The fruit is front and center, and the wine slides over the palate with a silky texture. Managing the tannins in 2017 was not easy, but this wine proves that lasting balance is not out of reach.

The Elio Grasso 2020 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté reveals a leaner, more streamlined mouthfeel compared to past vintages (especially compared to the far more concentrated 2019 vintage). The wine shows pretty brightness with wild berry, underripe cranberry, potting soil and sour cherry. There’s a wild hint of Eastern European dill or crushed mint as well. This edition is slightly more accessible overall with an open-knit approach and granular tannins.