2021 Massolino Langhe Nebbiolo (1500ml)

2021 is a suave, pure and red-fruited noted Nebbiolo with the savoury, chalky minerality that’s so typical of this grower. It draws you in with an alluring bouquet of red fruits, flowers and anise before blowing you over with the elegant and fleshy red fruits, supple tannins and energising acidity. The textbook finish is engagingly vivid and balanced with a long-lasting close. In a word: knockout.

This wine just gets better and better. Early vintages of the Nebbiolo were sourced exclusively from Massolino’s younger vines in Serralunga—a declassified Barolo if you like. Today there are two more parcels in play: Monforte’s Cascina I Maschi vineyard lies at altitude right on the border of the Barolo area, where the soils are rich in chalk (Massolino credits this cool site with the resultant vibrant perfume and ripe acidity); then there’s a parcel in Alba on lighter, sandy clay soils, which brings power and fruit concentration.

The blend is roughly one-third from each terroir, and there’s little doubt the sum of these three sites has bought even more brightness and early drinking appeal to what was already an outstanding Langhe Nebbiolo. Like all Massolino Nebbiolo, it was aged in large Slavonian oak casks (although the Langhe only spends 15 months in wood, compared to 24-plus months for the Barolo wines).

When we look at the finest wines of Piemonte, critic Antonio Galloni is a safe barometer of quality. But, when he writes of Massolino that “Their estate remains one of the lesser-known jewels in Piedmont,” we must take exception. Sure, Galloni’s previous sentence hits the bullseye, “I can’t think of too many things the Massolino brothers don’t do well.” But the second? Perhaps we should invite Mr. Galloni to Australia, where Massolino is rightly considered one of Piemonte’s crown jewels!

Founded in 1896 by the enterprising Giovanni Massolino—he was the first to bring electricity to the town—the estate is based in and around the town of Serralunga d’Alba, one of the prime sub-zones of Barolo. Today, the keys of this historical estate belong to Franco and Roberto Massolino who work with gifted, ex-Vajra winemaker Giovanni Angeli. Behind Massolino’s rise to the apex of Barolo lies their remarkable collections of Serralunga vineyards, including choice parcels of such famous sites as; Margheria, Parafada and the legendary Vigna Rionda where the Massolino family is the largest holders with 3.5 hectares of vines (two are planted to Nebbiolo) between 40 and 50 years old. Outside of this commune, Massolino also tends vines in the great Parussi Cru of Castiglione Falletto.

The high-altitude chalky hillsides of Serrralunga d’Alba, on the eastern edge of the Barolo DOCG, produce some of the most profound and long-lived Barolo wines. It is the home of great names such as Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa’s Falletto vineyard. The wines often have an extra stuffing of intense Nebbiolo fruit as well as a remarkable minerality that plays on both the freshness of the tannins and gives the wines a certain ferrous edge when young.

Massolino’s Barolos sit comfortably among the finest of the region—they are wines of wonderful purity and elegance. The wines have earned an immaculate reputation in Australia, and deservedly so.

The quality strides at this estate over the last decade or so have been truly remarkable with significant advances made, particularly in the vineyards. The Massolino Estate has now been organic for six years with no herbicides used for ten. The evolution of the work in the vineyards over that time has been impressive and is showing through in the wines. The team has introduced more competition through grass cover, and no systemic chemicals are used: only copper and sulphur against mildew and only ‘sexual confusion’ to combat pests.

In Australia, Massolino’s winemaker, Giovanni Angeli, has been dubbed the ‘Angel of Serralunga’ for the sensitivity he brings to his role.  Relying on indigenous yeasts, the Barolo wines ferment slowly and then age in large Slavonian oak botti for up to 30 months before being left to mature in bottle for about a year in the dark, cool cellars. In recent years, Angeli has introduced more and more cement for fermentation and large wooden fermenters, called tini, are also now becoming the norm for the top wines. In addition, Dante Scaglioni (former Bruno Giacosa cellarmaster) now consults here although our impression is that his impact has been very subtle. Massolino were, and are, already well and truly on the right path. Scaglioni simply takes part in the tastings and offers the Estate a valuable opinion from the outside.  

Today the Nebbiolo-based wines of Massolino sit comfortably among the finest of the region—they are wines of wonderful purity and elegance. In one sense they are ‘traditional’ and yet they offer the best of the “old” and “new” worlds: pure, aromatic, textural, deeply flavoured wines that are at the same time precise, vibrant and distinctly regional. The wines have earned an immaculate reputation in Australia, and deservedly so. Equally important, Massolino’s Barolos are remarkably well priced when compared to the other top producers of the area.

Alongside Massolino’s Barolo, we must reserve a good deal of excitement for their early drinking releases; the outstanding quality of which acts as a reminder of the class that flows through the Estate’s entire suite of wines. Critic Nick Stock has noted that “[Massollino] not only delivers admirable top-end nebbiolo wines, which is ultimately what it will be judged on, but it also makes a near-perfect range that starts with the delicious dolcetto and runs seamlessly through the barbera, to basic nebbiolo before arriving at the top tier wines”. Those words were written in 2015, and since that time, the Massolino team has made even more progress in both their vineyards and cantina. In short, the wines on Massolino’s undercard have never tasted finer.