The 2022 is another gorgeous release from this label. It is a pure-fruited, pretty wine (suggesting strawberry, cherry, violet, anise) with ripe, chalky tannins and a terrific, perfumed finish spiked with graphite-like minerality. Following very gentle extraction, it aged in large Slavonian oak casks for 15 months, as opposed to 24-plus months for the Barolo wine. To call this a bargain is to grossly understate the case!

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: 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. Massolino’s Barolos sit comfortably among the finest of the region—they are wines of wonderful purity and elegance. 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. 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. 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 that starts with the delicious Dolcetto and runs seamlessly through the Barbera, to basic Nebbiolo before arriving at the top tier wines. Bibendum