Massolino Barolo 2018

Massolino is a treasure. They’re one of the few wineries that can say they have almost 30(!) wines on Wine Spectator’s annual ‘Top 100 Wines of the Year’ list, including last year’s vintage, the 2016 which I offered a few weeks before its #7 placement. As you could imagine, that made getting an allocation this year infinitely more difficult, but I was able to do so if I took it right away before Wine Spectator scores it.

Massolino is armed with three fabulous Cru vineyards, Margheria, Parafada, and Vigna Rionda – the former is considered by most to be the crown jewel vineyard of Serralunga. Together, the three vineyards producer some of the best wines in the world.

It seems like no matter the vintage, the winemaking team puts out beautiful Barolos but in 2018 the case has never been stronger for their Serralunga Barolo – as this one is a little bit different than in other years. An uneasy growing easy gave the winemaking team enough doubt to decide to take the best eight barrels that were earmarked for the Grand Cru bottlings and ultimately decided to blend them back into the DOCG Barolo, adding even more depth of flavor, power and complexity than in regular years.