Massolino: the power of terroir

Posted on 11 May 2011

Blind tasting finished, short lunch break, and I’m off to my first vineyard visit (of two) today. For a change from the 2008 Barbarescos that occupied me in the morning, I enrolled for a tasting of older Barolos at Massolino. A well-known classic producer in Serralunga d’Alba, home – courtesy of its limestone-rich soils – to the tightest, most mineral and ageworthy Barolos.

We tasted three different single vineyard wines in four vintages: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. None of these wines was really ready to drink (Massolino’s excellent 2001 I blogged on yesterday is just getting there) but they gave a good idea about vintage and vineyard characteristics. Parafada is a nice steep slope exposed south-east to south-west, yielding wines with a good balance between fruit and structure. Until 2006 this wine saw some small barrique oak (though it was never very prominent in the taste) but significantly for the universal change of approach in Piedmont, Franco Massolino has now abandoned this and reverted to 100% traditional large barrels. Margheria is a vineyard on poorer soil. The wine from here is more tense, mineral, with a distinctive saline twist. In fact the 2004 Margheria is one of the most saline & umami-charged red wines I’ve tasted of late. Not easy to drink, but with a fabulous sense of place. Margheria is an underrated vineyard; another version by vintner Luigi Pira has long been a favourite of mine.

The best vineyard of Massolino is definitely the Vigna Rionda. This is the most classic cru of Serralunga. The plot is protected from wind by an adjacent hill and grapes ripen earlier here, resulting in more richness and slightly softer tannins. We retasted the 2001 but it’s actually the 2006 which I’ll remember: with one of the longest mineral finishes I can remember, it’s a great bottle of wine.

Massolino is a medium-sized family property with 22 hectares. Its qualitative progress has been steady over the last years, and the winemaking approach is straightforward. This allows the vineyard character to shine through. The greatest value of Barolo is not a happy vintage here or a successful commercial brand there, but the unique geography. Tasting a Vigna Rionda makes you understand what the terroir fuss is all about. In an age when almost everything can be copied and manufactured industrially, the Vigna Rionda flavour cannot.

Disclosure

My trip to Piedmont including flights, accommodation and wine tasting programme is sponsored by the Albeisa association of wine producers.