Massolino “Vigna Rionda” Barolo 2011

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

“If you ask a resident of Serralunga to name the town’s three finest vineyards, one of the trio is sure to be Vigna Rionda … It is an historic vineyard. The quality of its grapes has been celebrated for hundreds of years and the greatest names in the Langhe have for many years made special efforts to acquire grapes from Vigna Rionda.” Slow Food’s A Wine Atlas of the Langhe (2008)
Vigna Rionda is historically the most revered vineyard of Serralunga, the source of some of the greatest, finest, yet most robust and long-lived Barolo. The soil here is similar to the Parafada vineyard (limey/chalky marls), yet it is deeper again, there is more chalk and also a higher concentration of minerals and oxidized iron elements. The deeper soils, the altitude of 330 metres above sea level and the protection from northern winds and frost that the south/southwestern slopes affords means that Vigna Rionda has a longer growing season than the other crus. All these factors combine to produce a terroir that gifts wines with an optimum balance of perfume, finesse and structure rarely found elsewhere in Barolo. It also produces a wine with excellent acidity and tannins that require a longer ageing in botti and bottle. That is why it is released with a minimum six years of age.

The Massolino family are the largest holders in the Vigna Rionda with 3.5 hectares (2 planted to Nebbiolo). The wine from this exceptional site begins life as a coiled spring, which is why Massolino releases it with extra age: at six years (for the standard Riserva release) and ten-plus years for the Dieci X Anni release. With enough age, Vigna Rionda blossoms into an intensely perfumed, ultra-fine, pure and succulent wine with very fine tannins. Drawn from 38-45 year old vines, Franco Massolino expresses that the 2011 Riserva has been building up to a simmer; that, in Piemonte, the top growers are whispering that the best 2011s are much closer to the quality of 2010 than initially thought. Here’s a case in point, though the style is more swashbuckling – open and succulent – than its 2010 counterpart. The notes below do the wine justice. So much personality; beguiling purity of soft fruit, balanced and penetrating, with streamlined acidity and a lick of oyster shell contributing vineyard flavour. A very, very impassive, resonant Vigna Rionda. Oh, Serralunga! as Luigi Veronelli might have sighed.

Elegant, sophisticated, with a deceptive power, the wines of Massolino are always a delicious. The vineyards of Serralunga and the Cru’s great Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto.

The first time I tasted Massolino’s wines was amongst 10 Baroli from the 2004 vintage devoured in 2015. As it turned out half were good, half, not so good! The Massolino’s sat firmly in the good half. The standard Barolo was a stunner. The Massolino Dieci Anni (10 years) Vigna Rionda Riserva was a revelation. Only released in the best years it was superb. Balanced, complex, so inviting. Watch our 1min video reviews for each wine below the offer form. Wine Decoded’s Chief Wine Hacker, Paul, has offered his thoughts just above the order form.

About Massolino

Founded in 1896, Massolino Winery, is based in and around the town of Serralunga, one of the prime sub-zones of the Barolo DOC.

The Massolino family’s greatest asset is of course their 23 hectares of (mostly) Serralunga vineyards, including choice parcels of such famous sites as; Margheria, Parafada and the legendary Vigna Rionda. We say ‘mostly’ as the Massolino clan recently purchased a slice of the Parussi cru in Castiglione Falletto. Serrralunga, on the eastern edge of the Barolo DOCG, produces some of most profound and long lived Barolo. 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.

It is fair to say that Massolino holds the most remarkable collection of vineyards in Serralunga, amongst the smaller, quality focused producers anyway. The quality strides at this estate over the last 10-15 years have been remarkable with significant advances made, particularly in the vineyards. Certainly there has also been refinements in the cellars, firstly by Franco Massolino and then by current winemaker Giovanni Angeli (ex Vajra) who has been working with Franco since the 2005 harvest. As always however, it has been the work in the vineyards and the search for expressive and perfectly ripe fruit that has driven the rise in quality at this estate. The resultant improvement here has been very good news for both the commune and Barolo in general. Today the wines of Massolino sit comfortably among the finest of the region – they are wines of wonderful purity and elegance. They are exclusively aged in large casks, so 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. These are wines that score extremely highly on our deliciousness scale. Equally important, these wines are remarkably well priced when compared to the other top producers of the area.

About the 2013 Massolino Vintage

Franco Massolino and Giovanni Angeli’s decision to allow the wines to rest an extra six months in barrel (30 months instead of 24) has proven to be a virtuous one. The vintage’s dense tannins have folded perfectly into the wine’s striking, pure fruit and forceful acidity. The result is a set of wine that will flatter in their youth, though are crying out for a good spell in the cellar (especially for the single vineyard cru). Speaking of cellaring, there is no Barolo Riserva Dieci X Anni offered this year – the 2007 was not considered compelling enough for the high standards set by this label. Instead, we focus on the 2011 Riserva Vigna Rionda, a wine that Massolino themselves believe is holding its own against last year’s release, the astonishing 2010.

Wine Decoded’s Chief Wine Hacker – Paul Kaan’s Thoughts

The Barolo Classico and Cru Barolo’s from Massolino show great depth and length of fruit with the quality of tannin, key to any good Barolo. As you shift from the Langhe to the Barolo Classico DOCG, and then up to the Cru wines from the Margheria, Parafada and Parussi both the intensity of fruit and quality of tannin lifts accordingly. Massolino have managed to tame some very intense wines, in a large part through aging the wines for an extra 6 months in barrel prior to bottling. Each of the Cru’s show unique personality. The 2013 are very tight at the moment, brooding and will definitely blossom with another couple of years in bottle. In comparison with many 2013’s that I’ve tried they have a real harmony and show the hand of a winemaker that knows how to get the fruit to express itself to it’s full potential. All in all the wines are another triumph for Massolino.