Massolino Vigna Rionda Vertical Lunch

For one of this year’s Festa del Barolo events, we were joined by Franco Massolino and his son Luca to taste through 10 vintages of this iconic site. The wines were opened and double decanted 2 1/2 hours before lunch began, so the flights had anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours of air before they were served. Spacious tables meant that there there was enough room to keep all 10 vintages in front of us and follow them over the course of the meal. Antonio Galloni did a brilliant job of flighting the wines out in an interesting, illuminating way. All in all, a wonderfully enjoyable afternoon spent with an outstanding group of wines.

• 2018 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois

  France, Champagne

  Light and bright, citrus and stone with moderate dosage.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2000 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Tawny with early browning. Penetrating spice and herbs. Over time the nose becomes harsher and more herbaceous. Medium to light weight. Delicate, earthy, and elegant. Gently sweet red fruit, bitter citrus, soil toward the end, and moderate jagged tannins. I love the fragrance and supple entry, but it does not finish as well as it starts. Fully expressed (as opposed to the 2001) but it held up pretty well in the glass.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2011 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Ruby, fade outer quarter. Fragrant fennel, higher toned perfume, and a dash of bitter chocolate. Medium to full bodied but not at all ponderous, alcoholic, or heavy. Immediately rounder and richer than the 2000. Lovely tension between herbs, soil, and concentrated red and black fruit. Ripely tannic finish that allows one to read and enjoy it now. Big in the context of the other wines today. It just kept improving, and I was surprised at how impressive it was for a 2011. Excellent.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1997 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Same mature color as the 2000. Disjointed nose of caramel and green herbs. Medium weight, solid acidity. It leads with tobacco and soil and then adds spice and faded floral red fruit. Completely open and easy, but there is definitely some maderization, and it was the one wine that really tailed off significantly with additional air.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2006 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Ruby throughout. Some fruit on the nose, but rougher sweaty creosote tones as though you could smell the tannins. Medium+ body, high acidity, and some initial sweetness of fruit that exceeded my expectations after smelling it. Earthy, tannic finish. In the end, it doesn’t have the refined fruit or sophistication of many of the other vintages, but I have to give it credit for lots of sweetening and softening in the glass. Very good for the year but nowhere near the top of the heap today.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2001 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Light ruby core, tawny rim. Powerful menthol fragrance. Medium weight, surprising sappiness, depth, and chocolatiness. Cooler flavors, higher acidity, and a good bit of tannic grip. As it sat out, it steadily grew and the balance between fruit, soil, and acids became clearer with terrific inner mouth perfume also apparent. I found this to be unflashy but classic and quite impressive by the end of lunch. The way it sweetened and blossomed makes me think that it likely has years of positive development ahead.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2004 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Translucent light ruby. Intense mint and fennel with rising tobacco leaf. Medium weight, completely inviting, charming feel. Subtle sweetness, terrific crisp acidity, citric lift, and a beautifully long finish that is redolent of earth. Complex and one of the most seductive wines in this line up. While it seems to have the structure and balance to last for a few years, unlike the 2001, this began to slowly fade after a few hours. Until then, it pretty much made me swoon.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2014 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Medium ruby with some lightening. Reticent at first, then all fennel and mint with soil and fruit taking a back seat. Medium to lighter bodied. Sneaky acidity. Moderately ripe fruit on the attack followed by lots of terroir. This really came on with more time, showing more sweetness of fruit, citrus, and soil and excellent palate penetration, but it never quite reached the level of the best wines. That said, this is excellent and I would relish the chance to drink it again down the road. I wouldn’t be surprised if my take today is too conservative.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No

• 2016 Massolino Barolo Riserva Etichetta Nera Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Similar saturation but this has a redder tinge than the 2014. Sinuous swirl of plummy fruit and fragrant mint. Medium body. Gentle and poised with perfectly ripe fruit balanced by soil and citrus. Not a big wine but complex, spicy, and utterly accessible from the get go. Wonderful back and forth between the fruit and savory components. Furry tannins reach every inch of the palate, and it has great persistence. This really is a modern classic with tremendous early appeal but no shortage of potential.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2010 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Even ruby all the way out. Laid back aromas of green herb and a hint of candied fruit. These become more forthcoming and melded over time. Medium to full bodied-one of the rounder, sappier wines in the tasting. Strong restrained black cherry, underlying tar, excellent acidity, a squirt of orange peel, and serious tannins that make it less “come hither” and friendly than the 2016. Already quite beautiful but not as flamboyantly open. I see this aging inexorably and gracefully over the next few decades, and it could eventually outstrip some of the more precocious vintages.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 1996 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Saturated ruby center, tawny edge. Urgent green tones tending towatd fennel. Medium weight. Lovely licorice, black fruit, tar, and penetrating acidity that is firm but not overpowering. Long, tannic, earthy finish that leaves the sensation of Piemonte dirt on the tongue. My goodness, what a completely different animal than the younger wines and it speaks to a different time and different expectations of when a Barolo should peak. A great coda to the tasting. I have loved this all 3 times I’ve had it and there is no reason to doubt that it could still be going strong at age forty.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No