Elio Grasso Barolo Chiniera 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Grape: Nebbiolo

First vintage: 1978

Aspect and height above sea level: south-facing, 350-400 metres

Soil type: moderately loose-packed, slightly sandy, limestone-based

Vine training system and planting density: Guyot-trained at 4,500 vines per hectare

Average age of productive vines: around 40 years

Harvest period and method: second 10 days of October, manual harvest

The vinification procedure for Barolo Gavarini Chiniera involves alcoholic fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, the wine macerated on skins for 40 days. After completing malolactic fermentation, the wine matures in 25-hectolitre barrels of Slavonian oak for around 24 months. Bottling normally takes place in August. The Barolo Gavarini Chiniera then stays in the binning cellar for 8-10 months before release.

This is a stunning set of wines from Elio Grasso. As always, I tasted the 2021s next to the preceding vintage, which provided a terrific opportunity to compare the wines. I found the 2020s just as compelling as they were last year. The 2021s are the proverbial “iron fist in a velvet glove.” While many 2021s offer a good deal of relatively early approachability, the 2021s here require cellaring. Interestingly, today the Ginestra Casa Matè and Gavarini Chiniera feel a bit inverted in their personalities. The Ginestra comes across as a touch linear in its construction, while the Gavarini shows a bit more volume. I also tasted several vintages of the Barolo Riserva Rüncot that suggest there are great things in store here. These remain gorgeous, beautifully crystalline Barolos.

Antonio Galloni

About Elio Grasso

The Grasso family is highly respected by other Barolo producers and has lived in the Langhe for centuries, but only started bottling their own wines in the late 70’s, converting themselves from a growers family to wine producers. Great efforts were made in modernising and replanting Vineyards with the simple goal to produce the best Barolo possible from their Land. A jewel of an estate, with Gavarini Chiniera and Ginestra Casa mate vineyard sites in their holdings in Monforte. These wines sit at the very top of the pyramid and Elio and his son Gianluca, continue to release beautifully perfumed and structured Barolo, both in a traditional style and Runcot as the more modern wine. Great expressions of Monforte terroir; these examples of Barolo are as honest as you can find.

Stephen Tanzer explores the Grasso vintages from 2004-2007 with Gianluca Grasso

The 2021 Vintage

Having now tasted dozens of 2021 Barolos and Barbarescos they can be summed up as wines of energy and freshness, in general having a smidge less alcohol than usual, fine lines of juicy acid complexed with ripe, sweet and layered tannins. These are classic Nebbiolos with exceptional length and depth of fruit that will in the come years be a demonstration of the entrancing beauty of Nebbiolo.

We’ve seen it in the Langhe Nebbiolos, Barberas and Dolcetto’s from 2021. The Barbarescos and Barolos are living up to their predecessors high standards.

A mild, wet winter created water reserves for what became a very dry season. A long period of fine weather began with spring and lasted throughout the summer, with average temperatures recorded. The harvest of healthy and perfectly ripe berries began mid-September with whites and Dolcetto, followed by Barbera.

The first picks of nebbiolo began in the last days of September, peaking in the second week of October, aided by lower temperatures and a marked diurnal shift from mid-September onwards. In summary, 2021 was a year of remarkable quality, and no doubt in part due to the lower yields

Vintage reports from others to explore

Alessandro Masneghetti’s 2021 Barolo Vintage Report.

In an update to his report late last year Masneghetti wrote:

Late November 2023 update. This is what I wrote three years ago at the time of publishing the first vintage report. Today, after so many tastings carried out in recent months in parallel with the 2019 Barolo tastings, I can definitely say that this will be a very good vintage. More ready and more elegant than the 2019, and perhaps less long-lived (but that is all to be proven). That said, is certainly much closer to my personal tastes.

Where in the World is Elio Grasso?

Elio Grasso is based in the Commune of Monforte d’Alba, known for it’s powerful, structured and, long lived wines.

This 3D flyover is Epic covering each of the communes you can see just how varied and extreme the aspect of each vineyard is and how in the space of a few metres just how dramatically the change.