Ascheri. Barolo

Barolo DOCG
Grape: Nebbiolo

An absolutely classic take on a modern Barolo, the tannins are perfectly judged, the fruit dark and spicy, forward and appealing.  14.5%

Matteo Ascheri, Piemonte producer page

For me, this is a very nostalgic wine that harks back to days when Matteo made just 2 Barolo wines; the annata (this wine), and the selection (long gone).  The thinking behind Barolo ‘annata’ is to express the vintage by making a blend from the various vineyards to find the best overall balance.  However, Barolo today is more interested in expressive, site-specific wines; so, that silky elegance of Verduno will no longer tame the power of Serralunga.  
That said, never say never, the band is back together and in truth the Barolo annata never quite went away:  the old vines in the Pisapola (Verduno) and Sorano (Serralunga) vineyards were used to meet the demand for great, single-vineyard wines.  The demand for proper, enjoyable Barolo never went away and Matteo met it with new, younger vineyards whose fruit was used for own label Barolo until the vines matured into something far too good to give the ‘price-sensitive’ supermarkets; and so the ‘Blue Label Barolo’ was created, this ‘Retro Label’ was reserved for cellar sales, but it is so lovely that we wanted it!
The exact assemblage depends on the vintage, the cru* Barolo: Ascheri, Bric de Costa, Pisapola and Sorano take the first selection from their respective vineyards, the annata takes Nebbiolo from the younger vines and from those which complement the annata and not the cru wines.  The wine is fermented using inoculated yeasts in temperature-controlled steel tanks at 28ºC for two weeks, pumping over every 4 hours.  The period of maceration is relatively short, and the wine is aged in botti grande*