Barbaresco, Massolino 2021

In the vanguard of the best producers of the Barolo region, the Massolino family make superlative wines from the 22 hectares of vines on some of the best sites of Serralunga d’Alba and Castiglione Falletto.

Based in the beautiful medieval village of Serralunga d’Alba itself, there are now three generations of the family involved in the making of Barolo, with the latest additions being winemakers Franco and Roberto bringing fresh ideas and a new perspective to the process. Quality has steadily improved in recent years from a base that was already outstanding.

Giovanni Massolino founded the family firm in 1896, becoming the first in the village to install electric current to his properties in the process, and it has remained in family hands ever since. They are justifiably proud of their heritage, and when expansion has been necessary they have carried it out by burrowing cellars below the village in which they have always lived. Over the years the various generations have expanded little by little to encompass some of the finest sites in the Serralunga sub-region, including Margheria, Paratada and Vigna Rionda.

To these first-class sites they have added 1.3 hectares of the Parussi vineyard, 300 metres up in Castiglione Falletto area next door. This vineyard faces from south-east to south-west in a saddle on the crest, planted at 5,000 vines per hectare on a mixture of clay, sand and limestone. The vines are harvested by hand and the wine is traditionally made and aged in great oak casks. It is in the vineyard where most of the work is done and the new young members of the team have taken strides to improve the fruit even more in the last few years, achieving consistent ripeness and balance through a reappraisal of the treatment of the vines. The results are plain to see in any bottle.