Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet red. Bouquet is ethereal and enveloping with intense and persistent notes of sweet spices, sandalwood, tobacco, and leather. Great structure. Remarkable tannins which soften with time and make it a perfect wine for aging. Its very long finish is typical of Barolos from Castiglione Falletto.
Perfect with the rich, traditional cuisine of the region, stewed meats, and medium--long matured cheeses.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Dark-berry, spice and dried-flower aromas that follow through to a full body, tight and integrated tannins and a long and vivid finish. Very compact and polished. One of the best Parussi I have tasted from here.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine was not made in 2014, when this vineyard site in Castiglione Falletto was hit by not one but two violent hailstorms. Thankfully, the 2015 Barolo Parussi comes from a trouble-free growing season and has resulted in one of the best expressions of the cru made by Massolino thus far, with the first vintage produced in 2007. This site sees a unique soil profile, with sand that is much richer in organic materials compared to the estate's historic vineyard sites. The terrain enjoys two exposures because the vines are planted over the crest of a hill. Harvest comes later here, as well, because the growing cycle is slower and Parussi is one of the last parcels to show beautiful leaf color in the autumn. Thanks to all those extra variables, the winemaking team has a little more to play with in order to achieve complexity and integration. In our progression from least to most powerful single-vineyard wines tasted, this was the third wine in the lineup. Indeed, this wine offers more "grasso" or body weight and volume. Dark mineral tones make for an elegant finish. However, the tannins are very young and need more time to soften. This is your proverbial cellar wine.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Offering an impressive combination of power and finesse, this opens with aromas of black and brown spices, pipe tobacco and black-skinned berry. On the brooding palate, assertive but noble tannins accompany ripe Marasca cherry, licorice, cinnamon and brown pepper. Give it time to let the tannins unwind and to fully develop. Drink 2025–2035.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Focused and elegant, this red features a pure cherry center, accented by tar, spice, tobacco and iron flavors. It firms up on the finish, yet all the components are in the right place for a long future. Best from 2024 through 2045.
-
Decanter
Known for its Vigna Rionda bottling, Massolino emerges in this vintage with Parafada leading the way. This cru in Serralunga typically shows some roughness when young, yet the warm vintage and the great work of the winery are able to compensate here. It is ruby in colour and extremely youthful in the glass, with fresh red cassis and pomegranate aromas and flavours. It develops with a slightly rustic, veracious character: some graininess on the palate and austere on the finish, with an amazing savouriness. Drinking Window 2022 - 2050
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.