Giuseppe Mascarello
Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio has a long and illustrious history in Piedmont and is unequivocally one of the greatest producers of Barolo. This traditionally styled winery is now run by Mauro Mascarello, who is the fourth generation of the family at the helm of the business.
The origins of the estate date back to the mid-19th century, when Giuseppe Mascarello made a name for himself managing the vineyards of other landowners and finally decided to buy vineyards for his own winery in 1881 near the village of Monforte d’Alba. His son Maurizio Mascarello bought the Monprivato vineyard in the nearby village of Castiglione Falletto in 1904 and moved the family business to this location. From that day on, the name of Mascarello and the legendary Monprivato vineyard have been inextricably linked. In 1921 Maurizio bought an old and beautiful 18th century building in Monchiero and moved the family business there where it still resides today. When Maurizio died in 1923, his two sons, Giuseppe and Natale, took over the management of the company.
The Monprivato vineyard, with an area of six hectares, is splendidly located to the south-west, in the municipality of Castiglione Falletto. The Mascarellos own all of Monprivato (having purchased small lots from a pair of neighbors between 1985 and 1990), making this vineyard “a monopole” along the lines of La Tâche.
The soils of Monprivato, together with the refinement of the Nebbiolo Michét variety, produce one of the most compelling, complex and elegant interpretations of Barolo.
Mauro Mascarello is often described as “an enlightened traditionalist” when speaking of his winemaking approach. There are no barriques or roto-ferments in the Mascarello cellars, as the wines continue to be aged in the old Slavonian oak barrels purchased by his father in the 1950s.
