Barolo and the White Truffle Season: Monprivato vs. Cascina Francia, 2008

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A Focused Comparison Over Alba White Truffles at Donato Enoteca

Barolo is often called the “king of Italian wines,” but not because it’s big and heavy like Cabernet or Syrah. In fact, Barolo is closer in body and texture to Red Burgundy or Etna Rosso—pale in color, high in acidity, intensely aromatic, and built on tannin rather than weight. Made entirely from Nebbiolo in the Langhe hills of Piedmont, Barolo combines red-fruited lift with earthy, leathery depth, giving it a structure that’s firmer than Burgundy but far less dense than the Bordeaux or Rhône varieties often associated with “full-bodied” reds. With age, Barolo and Burgundy actually grow more similar: both develop sous-bois, dried flower, and savory complexity, though Burgundy generally remains gentler while Barolo keeps a bit more grip and spice. Both pair beautifully with truffles, but in Piedmont there’s no debate—Barolo is the traditional and definitive match for Alba white truffles, thanks to its perfume, acidity, and earthy resonance. Burgundy’s soulmate may be duck; Barolo’s is unmistakably truffle.

Late fall means fresh Alba white truffle season — short, expensive, and absolutely worth it when the ingredients and wines are right. Last night at Donato Enoteca, it was just the 4 of us, the right number to fully immerse ourselves in the pleasures of the two remarkable bottles.

We opened two top-tier 2008 Baroli — Mascarello Monprivato and Conterno Cascina Francia — alongside a lineup of dishes designed to carry as much truffle aroma as possible.

It became the kind of side-by-side that reminds you how vineyard, producer style, and vintage all show their hand differently at the table.

This sort of focused food and wine pairing is my favorite way to experience and appreciate fine wine these days.


White Truffle Context

True Alba white truffles (Tuber magnatum pico) are all about aroma. They don’t need complexity beneath them; they need fat, warmth, and simplicity to lift the perfume. Donato’s menu nails this every year, and last night was no exception.

We had:

• Tajarin with butter, Parmigiano, and shaved truffle

Classic Piedmont. The egg-rich noodles and butter act as the perfect carrier for the truffle’s perfume.

• Risotto served inside a Parmigiano crust cup, overloaded with white truffle

This was the biggest truffle hit of the night. The warm risotto and crispy cheese shell provided richness and texture, and the heavy snowfall of truffle on top made it the most aromatic dish on the table.

• The signature raviolo with soft egg yolk and ricotta, brown butter, fried sage, and truffle

Rich, warm, and built to maximize truffle lift. A Donato classic.

• Veal with jus, roasted potatoes, and truffle

The savory depth connected naturally with the darker Barolo.

All four dishes elevated the wines, and each wine reacted slightly differently to them — exactly the way you want a Barolo comparison to unfold.


Producer & Vineyard Overview

Giuseppe Mascarello — Monprivato (Castiglione Falletto)

A historic traditionalist. Monprivato is a monopole and one of the most elegant crus in Barolo — red-fruited, aromatic, refined tannins. Long macerations and Slavonian botti keep the winemaking transparent.

House style: Monprivato’s house style is defined by elegance, aromatics, and transparency. It is one of Barolo’s benchmark expressions of Castiglione Falletto: red-fruited, floral, and finely textured, with signature notes of cherry, rose, spice, and a gentle herbal lift. The tannins are firm yet refined—more sandy-chalky than muscular—and the wine rarely shows heaviness or overt power. Mascarello’s deeply traditional approach (long macerations and aging in large Slavonian botti) preserves purity over density, letting vintage character speak clearly. Monprivato typically offers early aromatic openness, slow structural evolution, and a long, graceful aging curve built on finesse rather than weight..


Giacomo Conterno — Cascina Francia (Serralunga d’Alba)

Conterno’s foundational cru and the raw material for Monfortino in top years. Serralunga brings iron-rich tannin, darker fruit, and greater depth, even under traditional élévage.

House style: Cascina Francia’s house style is built on depth, structure, and longevity. As one of Serralunga’s great crus, it delivers darker fruit tones—black cherry, blackberry skin, licorice, iron, and resinous herbs—wrapped in a firmly tannic frame that can feel architectural in youth. The vineyard’s iron-rich soils contribute both power and a distinctive mineral savoriness, while Conterno’s traditional winemaking (long macerations, large botti, no barrique) preserves purity and intensity without embellishment. Francia is slower to open than Castiglione Falletto wines and typically enters its drinking window much later, evolving from tight, stern, and medicinal into something velvety, profound, and deeply savory over time. It is Barolo built for decades, not years.


How the 2008s Actually Performed

2008 Mascarello Monprivato

More accessible from the start.
Aromatics: red cherry, rose, cinnamon, sweet herbs
Texture: softened tannins, medium weight, already showing evolution
Profile: leaner, more classical than the 2007 (which is currently more plush and charming)

It excelled with the tajarin and the raviolo, where the red-fruited brightness and spice complemented the butter and truffle without overwhelming them.


2008 Conterno Cascina Francia

Initially tighter, as expected.

Aromatics: darker fruit, iron, pine resin, medicinal herbs
Structure: firm early tannins that softened to a velvety texture after 2–3 hours
Profile: more depth, more tension, still earlier in its development curve

The veal and especially the Parmigiano-crusted risotto brought out the wine’s savory power. By the end of the night, the Conterno had softened somewhat but remained clearly the younger, tighter, more robust wine.


Bottom Line

Monprivato 2008 — open, expressive, red-fruited, and ready now.
Cascina Francia 2008 — structured, darker, medicinal, and built for aging.

Pairing them with peak-season Alba white truffles brought out their differences with remarkable clarity. A once-a-year kind of dinner, and exactly the kind of setting where classic Barolo shows its true range.

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