Winemaker Notes
This robust, rich, and austere Barolo reflects the remarkable complexity of the Serralunga d’Alba soils and is ideal for long-term aging. It is best decanted and served at 18–20°C (64–68°F) and pairs elegantly with important rice and pasta dishes such as risotto cooked in Barolo, as well as rich main courses like roast meats, while after several years of aging, it reveals its full potential when enjoyed as a contemplative wine alongside hard and medium-hard cheeses.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A ripe brick red color, the 2020 Barolo Parafada is layered, ripe, and spicy, with notes of licorice, dried cherries, incense, cedar, potpourri, and baking spice. Pure and expansive, it’s weightless yet has penetrating richness in its pure notes of kirsch and also offers sweet tannins that weave seamlessly with fresh acidity, followed by an exceptional and long finish. A gorgeous wine from Massolino, it offers a wide drinking window over the coming 15-20 years.
-
Decanter
Parafada is a small MGA in a basin with full south, east and west exposures. Massolino's interpretation is surgical: super-zesty with earthy strawberry, liquorice, fresh violet and a Pinot-like elegance. The palate shows a richness with juicy, brilliant acidity, silky tannins and an amazing finish with blood orange vibrancy. Graceful, with good strength for ageing.
-
James Suckling
Notes of dried raspberries, cherries, dried orange peel and ground spices. Some tar. Medium-bodied, structured and firm, with polished tannins. I like the energy and length here. Round and refined with a bright finish. So well done. Drink after 2027.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
No one consistently interprets Serralunga d'Alba fruit as well as Franco and Roberto Massolino. Their 2020 Barolo Parafada is an exceptional wine that doles out elegant tones of iron, rusty metal, blood orange and lavender. The high alcohol content (measured at 15%) presents a small distraction, but otherwise this wine is very tight, supple and almost glossy in texture.
-
Wine Spectator
A mix of bright cherry and raspberry fruit, eucalyptus, menthol, iron and tobacco heralds this structured yet succulent red. Expressive, with the potential for aging, too. Shows fine balance, complexity and length.
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.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.