Massolino Barbera d’Alba 2018

Description

“This is a fabulous set of Baroli from brothers Roberto and Franco Massolino. The wines capture the essence of the vintage – while not being excessively marked by the year – in the house’s classic, firm style. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are done in cement and the wines are aged exclusively in large, neutral casks.” Antonio Galloni, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Feb 2011
Founded in 1896, Massolino Winery, is based in and around the town of Serralunga, one of the prime sub-zones of the Barolo DOC.
The Massolino family’s greatest asset is of course their 23 hectares of (mostly) Serralunga vineyards, including choice parcels of such famous sites as; Margheria, Parafada and the legendary Vigna Rionda. We say ‘mostly’ as the Massolino clan recently purchased a slice of the Parussi cru in Castiglione Falletto. Serrralunga, on the eastern edge of the Barolo DOCG, produces some of most profound and long lived Barolo. It is the home of great names such as Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa’s Falletto vineyard. The wines often have an extra stuffing of intense Nebbiolo fruit as well as a remarkable minerality that plays on both the freshness of the tannins and gives the wines a certain ferrous edge when young.

It is fair to say that Massolino holds the most remarkable collection of vineyards in Serralunga, amongst the smaller, quality focused producers anyway. The quality strides at this estate over the last 10-15 years have been remarkable with significant advances made, particularly in the vineyards. Certainly there has also been refinements in the cellars, firstly by Franco Massolino and then by current winemaker Giovanni Angeli (ex Vajra) who has been working with Franco since the 2005 harvest. As always however, it has been the work in the vineyards and the search for expressive and perfectly ripe fruit that has driven the rise in quality at this estate. The resultant improvement here has been very good news for both the commune and Barolo in general. Today the wines of Massolino sit comfortably among the finest of the region – they are wines of wonderful purity and elegance. They are exclusively aged in large casks, so they are ‘traditional’ and yet they offer the best of the “old” and “new” worlds: pure, aromatic, textural, deeply flavoured wines that are at the same time precise, vibrant and distinctly regional. These are wines that score extremely highly on our deliciousness scale. Equally important, these wines are remarkably well priced when compared to the other top producers of the area.

Like the Estate’s Dolcetto, Giovanni Angeli has delivered a superb Barbera this year. Cropped from 2.2 hectares of limestone-rich vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba, the vines are Guyot-trained and are approximately 10-45 years old. In terms of the winemaking, the wine fermented for 10-12 days in stainless steel and was raised in the same vessels for a short period of maturation; the wine is usually bottled and released for sale during the spring after the harvest. It’s a succulent and perfumed release packed with bright, red plummy fruit and violet notes leading to a lovely, perfumed, vibrant close.  Under Stelvin.
“Massolino’s 2018 Barbera d’Alba is an easy-drinking expression, with bright acidity and crunchy, dark fruit flavors. This wine is made in stainless steel only, following a classic, non-interventionist approach, with simple pump-overs during fermentation for up to 15 days, depending on the vintage. It’s a simple, fresh Barbera that’s a good match for prosciutto and cold cuts.” 89 points, Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate #243

RRP $52   *SPECIAL 6 PACK BUY .. Only $39.99 when you buy 6 of this wine*