2016 Elio Grasso "Ginestra Casa Mate" Barolo

The Elio Grasso 2016 Barolo Ginestra Casa Maté starts off a bit shy, or closed, and I was never fully able to get the wine to open. I decanted two bottles and went back over the course of a few days to check on their progress. That said, the wine never let its guard down. It remained super tight and compact over the course of my long evaluation. Given the care and reputation of this estate, I'm betting on a very long cellar evolution for this bottle. With fruit from a three-hectare plot in Ginestra, it offers beautiful structure with integrated acidity and tannins. The mouthfeel is gorgeous, but I wish the wine would offer more on the bouquet. Red fruit and wild berry are followed by grilled herb, crushed flower and dried lilac. The aromatic playlist is subtle and hushed. An ample 20,000 bottles were produced, and I hope to encounter this wine again sometime in the future when it has evolved. (ML)