Winemaker Notes
The 2013 Vigna Rionda Riserva Barolo is a bright garnet red. The aroma grows from very intensely floral in the early years to characteristic “goudron” as it ages, through a multitude of scents which are always particularly seductive. Probably the most potent of all from Massolino, it perfectly summarises the essential characteristics of Barolo wine, such as grand structure, excellent alcohol concentration and tannins capable of guaranteeing very long ageing.
It expresses its best potential when served with meat dishes, rich in intense and persistent aromas and flavours, such as joints of lamb or kid. Also, thanks to its marked tannins, it is simply superb with the bitter-sweet alternation of furry and feathered game.
A complex wine, constantly in evolution, capable of guaranteeing unique sensations for refined and demanding palates.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Hailing from one of the most celebrated vineyards in the entire denomination, this focused beauty boasts layers of complexity and depth, starting with its classic Nebbiolo aromas of forest floor, new leather, violet and wild berry. Balanced and firmly structured, the palate shows tension, power and elegance, delivering succulent Morello cherry, crushed raspberry, tobacco and licorice alongside firm, aristocratic tannins. It's still young but already beautifully balanced, with bright acidity.
Cellar Selection
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
First produced in 1982, this is the ace in Massolino's rotation, and the 2013 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda is a true standout in the appellation. It is finer, more elegant and more compact than its peers, bringing a spicy personality that belies a profound and deep nature. It's still tense, a little nervous and has some cellar time ahead of it, but this is a beautifully precise wine. This cru site is composed of sedimentary layers of sandy, yellow and ferrous marlstone that absorbs the moisture well. The wine is aged in very mild oak in order to maintain the purity of the fruit and the robust tannins that come naturally to it. This is a real treasure for your cellar.
Rating: 97(+)
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James Suckling
Sweet-plum and orange-peel aromas here. Full-bodied, very tight and reserved with ripe and chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Shows power and finesse at the same time. Great reserve wine.
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Wine Spectator
Linear, defined more by structure than flavor today. Lively acidity buoys the cherry, currant, iron and tobacco notes, while refined tannins lend support. Very long and fresh on the finish, but needs a few more years to reach its peak. Best from 2023 through 2045.
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.