Massolino Barolo 2015

Want to know what the Barolo fuss is about? Why people go nuts about Nebbiolo?

Here’s one wine that shows the beauty of what Jancis Robinson describes as ‘the world’s most tantalising grape’ in its purest form.

It’s from Massolino – one of those names that I always forget about when listing fine Baroli, only to be reminded that I’m missing out on great wines when I check back in.

Using fruit from Serralunga d’Alba (FYI a beautiful hilltop town with a great wine bar. Worth a visit), Massolino delivers vino that is graceful, vibrant, classical. Big oak and extended time on skins, yet with many wines sealed under screwcap too. Old school, but not old fashioned…

With this Massolino Barolo 2015 you can instantly see how Nebbiolo can be compared to Pinot Noir. It’s elegant, medium bodied, blue-fruited and so well-weighted. There is an impact here via the mouthcoating tannins, but otherwise, it’s more silk than brawn.

In fact, while the Pinot analogy is good, the shape of a wine like this is more like a Grenache, just with other-worldly tannins. In other words, it’s shaped like Nebbiolo, and it is that contrast of approachability vs life-readjusting tannins makes you just love Barolo (and the grape) even more.

What I think sets a wine like this Massolino apart is the acidity and subtlety, with power, purity, no intrusive oak  (matured exclusively in very large 2,000L+ barrels) or excess alcohol and great depth. And you just know there is an extra layer in the top, single vineyard Massolino Baroli above it too.

A delightful wine for consuming AND contemplating (an important distinction for mine). Best drinking: Now to at least twenty years. 18.5/20, 94/100. 14%, $115ish. Would I buy it? Sure would. I enjoy drinking this style so much.