Giuseppe Mascarello, Barolo Vigna Cappella di Santo Stefano, 2001

Everyone knows Mascarello for Monprivato, but this bottle comes from a different, rarer address entirely: the Santo Stefano di Perno cru in Monforte d'Alba, where Mascarello owns roughly one hectare in Santo Stefano di Perno (about 2/3 ha historically); 'just over half a hectare' is the size of their Villero parcel, not this cru. Giuseppe Mascarello's wine is 'Santo Stefano di Perno' (Perno Vigna Santo Stefano) in Monforte d'Alba; it is not named for a chapel. The 'Cappella di Santo Stefano' chapel designation belongs to Rocche dei Manzoni's Perno bottling, a different producer.. Mauro Mascarello is the enlightened traditionalist of Barolo — long macerations, years in ancient Slavonian botti, bottled unfined and unfiltered — and Perno gives him pine, menthol, graphite, and dark fruit wrapped in chalky, incisive tannins. 2001 was one of the truly great classic Barolo vintages, a cool-September year that made structured, aromatic, racy wines built to go the distance. At twenty-five years on, this is fully in its stride — resolved and complex but still firmly framed. As with any bottle of this age, decant, and treat it with the patience it has earned.