Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The 2019 is the first vintage ever for Massolino with Barbaresco. A precise, even reductive style typical of the estate, it has an amazing definition of violet, rose and rhubarb melded with balsamic whiffs and savoury liquorice in depth. Firm acidity and tannins dominate the palate with elegance and integration; a woven structure which flows with dusty, ripe tannins and lifted freshness. More elegant than powerful, its quintessentially Barbaresco and not without sufficient concentration for ageing.
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James Suckling
A pretty mineral nose showing blood orange, rust and a racy, dark raspberry and cranberry character. A hint of dry earth and vanilla as well. Very firm and sinewy with a medium-to full-bodied palate, showing impressive purity and fine grip. Very well-made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Massolino 2019 Barbaresco offers fine and delicate fiber with plenty of wild berry, blue flower, licorice and crushed stone. With 10,000 bottles produced, this wine remains a fresh and accessible taste of Nebbiolo from the gentle hills of Barbaresco.
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Wine Spectator
Delivers juicy strawberry, cherry, herbal and mineral flavors that buffer the spine of tannins. Well-balanced, this stays defined and linear on the finish.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A wine that most perfectly conveys the spirit and essence of its place, Barbaresco is true reflection of terroir. Its star grape, like that in the neighboring Barolo region, is Nebbiolo. Four townships within the Barbaresco zone can produce Barbaresco: the actual village of Barbaresco, as well as Neive, Treiso and San Rocco Seno d'Elvio.
Broadly speaking there are more similarities in the soils of Barbaresco and Barolo than there are differences. Barbaresco’s soils are approximately of the same two major soil types as Barolo: blue-grey marl of the Tortonion epoch, producing more fragile and aromatic characteristics, and Helvetian white yellow marl, which produces wines with more structure and tannins.
Nebbiolo ripens earlier in Barbaresco than in Barolo, primarily due to the vineyards’ proximity to the Tanaro River and lower elevations. While the wines here are still powerful, Barbaresco expresses a more feminine side of Nebbiolo, often with softer tannins, delicate fruit and an elegant perfume. Typical in a well-made Barbaresco are expressions of rose petal, cherry, strawberry, violets, smoke and spice. These wines need a few years before they reach their peak, the best of which need over a decade or longer. Bottle aging adds more savory characteristics, such as earth, iron and dried fruit.