Winemaker Notes
Its finest expression is achieved in pairings with rich and strongly flavored dishes, from fresh pasta with rich meat or vegetable sauces to grilled or roast red meat. It is also excellent with a variety of cheeses, ranging from soft cheeses to delicate, blue-veined specialities.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Massolino 2021 Barbaresco (in the bottle with the white label for the non-cru selections) has a lovely bouquet that admittedly leans toward the riper side of the Nebbiolo spectrum with mineral notes, redcurrant and dried flower. The wine feels fresh and tart on the palate, and you do get extra textural heft and fiber in this vintage. This is a blend of fruit from Serraboella, Albesani and Starderi (with 24,000 bottles created).
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Wine Spectator
Aromas and flavors of cherry, strawberry, rose, wet hay and white pepper combine with a firm structure and vibrant acidity in this expressive, complex red, which is harmonious and long on the fruit- and savory-tinged aftertaste. Best from 2026 through 2043.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The dark ruby/magenta 2021 Barbaresco is highly expressive on opening, with notes of crushed black raspberries, candied flowers, sweet sage, and wet stone. Medium-bodied, it fills the palate up front with a rounded feel, ripe tannins, and fresh acidity, and it has a nice lift of citrus on the finish. It has good length for an entry wine and will benefit from another 6-12 months in bottle. Drink 2025-2035.
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Vinous
The 2021 Barbaresco is a blend from parcels in Albesani, Serraboella and Starderi. Gracious and nuanced, the 2021 offers up hints of crushed flowers, orange peel, mint, sweet red berry fruit and spice. Readers will find a super-classic Barbaresco. Lifted aromatics, mid-weight structure and persistent yet fine tannins give the wine its shape. This is beautifully done.
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James Suckling
Bright cinnamon and earthy strawberry aromas with violets and dried cherries. Firm, with lifted acidity, dusty yet ripe tannins, a chewy mid-palate and ripe fruit on the finish. Approachable Barbaresco but will age nicely, too. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of herbs, twigs, and savory spices intertwine with macerating red berries and a hint of mushroom. Beautifully firm tannins frame fresh red berry flavors bursting with vitality, while sweet spices cascade along the palate to an elegant finish. Drink from 2026.
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.