In addition to its classic source—a parcel of old vines in Meruzzano—Rocca’s Barbaresco now takes in a selection of young-vine fruit from two Barbaresco Cru parcels: Ronchi and Cottà. These sources, along with the winemaking—three weeks on skins and maturation exclusively in large Stockinger botti for 24 months—mean we can expect a pretty serious wine at this level.

It’s a terrific introduction to the year. From the off, you can sense the presence of the fleshy power and precision that characterised Rocca’s 2019 Barbarescos. The nose already shows great aromatic charm with red fruit purity, flecked by floral prettiness and lifted spice. The palate is vibrant and fleshy, more ‘filled out’ than 2019, and crammed with graceful flow cosseted by fine, mouthcoating tannins and wonderful freshness. It finishes on a Campari note with great length. It all adds up to an excellent vintage for this cuvée.

This celebrated, limestone-rich Barbaresco Cru runs along the southern belt of the appellation, near the town itself. The Rocca cellars are located just above this southeast-facing vineyard—one of the reasons the site has become synonymous with the name Albino Rocca. Ronchi is also the oldest and largest holding of the estate, extending to almost six hectares (three of Nebbiolo)—roughly a third of the total area of the Cru. With Rocca’s Nebbiolo vines here now aged between 50 and 70 years, this vineyard offers an ideal combination of vine age, deep clay and limestone soils and southeast exposure. It’s no surprise that it consistently produces some of Barbaresco’s greatest wines, wildly aromatic and rich in complexity and structure.

This producer has been through an incredible journey in recent years. The catalyst was the sudden passing in 2021 of family patriarch Angelo Rocca. Angelo was already moving the estate back to a more classic style (having come full circle), and after his death, his three daughters decided to produce a wine in his honour. Speaking with their grandfather, Albino Rocca (Angelo’s father and founder of the estate), the Rocca sisters formulated the idea of making a wine the way it had been done back in Albino’s day. The first release of the Angelo Barbaresco was such a success that it has inspired evolution across all the wines, and two wooden fermenters are now at the winery.

Angelo is a small blend of fruit from selected parcels across the estate. It was given a lunga macerazione (50 days on skins using a submerged cap) in a specially designed large-format wooden Stockinger fermenter. The wine was then aged for 24 months in a 2,000-litre cask. The blend is typically 50% Ronchi, 25% Ovello and 25% Montersino. Galloni has described it as a “Brunate of Barbaresco”, which gives you some insight into the quality on offer here.

As you would expect, the 2020 Angelo is the most complex and brooding of Rocca’s 2020 Barbarescos. Given time, the wine’s ethereal structure and lush, red-fruited succulence will mesh nicely with the layers of dried flowers, deep spice and earthy depth. In the meantime, there is something charmingly ‘old school’ that the extended maceration has brought—something indescribably complex, too. Yet, the wine remains magically fresh, pure and refined, with the supporting structure hovering in the background.

On the western hills above Neive, Albesani is one of the shining stars of Barbaresco. In his Barbaresco MGA, Masnaghetti writes that here, “…the combination of soil, stature and exposure creates one of the greatest vineyards of the Langhe”. The vines were planted between 30 and 70 years ago at 260 metres above sea level on soils of limestone, clay and marl with an ideal southwest exposure. This was naturally fermented in tank, then aged in 25-hectolitre cask for 26 months.

Again, this is old-school classic in terms of its fruit profile and structure. It’s medium- to full-bodied, with sweet fruit suggesting fresh plum with hints of leather, honey and iodine complexity, clove and nutmeg spice and a cool freshness. It’s intense yet elegant, with flesh and complexity. Lovely stuff. 

Purchased in 1999, the domaine farms 1.3 hectares of what is possibly the best-known MGA of Neive (made famous by Bruno Giacosa). Sitting at 240 metres altitude on a low and twisting ridge opposite the Albesani Cru, Busso’s vines are south-west exposed and face the river. It’s a windy microclimate despite not being particularly high. The soil here is the limestone-rich Sant’Agata marl with sandy and calcareous layers. In 2015 Piero began to separate his oldest vines here (planted in the 1950s), for a separate old vine bottling (see below). The vines for this wine were planted between 25 and 50 years ago. Aging is the same as for the other crus (two years in Slavonian oak casks), but the wine is kept an extra year in bottle before release.

This is clearly the most hedonistic Barbaresco in the line-up, with waves of plush fruit and very fine tannins. It offers, deep, plummy characters and all kinds of spice (cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, etc.) and a lingering, sappy close. An excellent 2018.

Nomacorc Reserva. First produced in 1911, the fruit for Massolino’s classic cuvée is selected from seven sites across roughly seven hectares of prime-sited Serralunga vineyards. The most important of these sites—Briccolina, Collareto, Broglio and Le Turne—are dotted around the town itself (Le Turne borders Margheria, while Collareto lies next to Vigna Rionda)—so we are talking quality real estate. The 2020 also includes a little declassified fruit from Massolino’s Parussi Cru. Vine age varies from 10 to 55 years.

2020 was the third year that Massolino’s Barolo wines fermented in large wooden casks (the wines used to ferment in concrete). While the Cru wines below now ferment exclusively in oak—which Giovanni Angeli credits with imparting even more finesse—half of this Barolo still fermented in concrete. This cuvée spent around 20 days on skins, and the final blend matured for 30 months in large Slavonian oak casks. It is an exceptional release for a wine that is, as always, wonderful value and an archetypical Serralunga Barolo. Already drinking beautifully, this is lithe, refined village Barolo at its best, with suave flavours of strawberry compote, spiced cherry, blood orange and liquorice underscored by fresh acidity and superfine, long tannins. Pretty as a peach!

Natural cork. Margheria is one of Serralunga’s most important and illustrious sites. The Massolino family bought their first parcel here in 1964, and the remainder came online during the ’70s. The current holding is 1.5 hectares. Sitting 280 metres above sea level, Margheria is very chalky with a high percentage of sand (which brings elegance), while the high calcium carbonate content brings vibrant mineral energy to Serralunga’s natural depth.

As with all three 2020 Crus, Margheria fermented in large oak fermenters and spent around three weeks on skins. It then aged in botti for 30 months before bottling and remained in bottle for a further year before release. This is a benchmark release for this wine—a superb, open, fine-boned Margheria. As always, it’s pretty and perfumed, yet has plenty of ripe fruit and fine structure.

Natural cork. This is the only Barolo vineyard Massolino owns beyond Serralunga—‘the egg outside the nest’ as an old Piemonte saying goes. On the crest of the ridge, Parussi sits right next to the Serralunga border on the Castiglione Falletto side. The blue, iron-rich Sant'Agata marls here are a little lighter and more oxygenated, with more silt and less clay than in Serralunga. This makes for more vigour in the vines and a completely different style of wine. The Massolino family were attracted to the excellent southeast-to-southwest exposure, combined with the age of the vines (45 years) and the vineyard’s situation at 290 metres above sea level. To this day, Massolino is the only Barolo producer to bottle a single-vineyard wine from this Cru.

As always, this is quite different from the Serralunga wines, with more pungent depth and firmer tannins. It is an outstanding example of Castiglione Falletto, showing the depth of the place and the class of Massolino. Again, it fermented and aged in large oak, with around three weeks on skins, and is one of the best examples of this wine to date.

In a recent survey for Michele Longo and Ian D’Agata’s upcoming book, no Barolo cru garnered more votes from respondents asked to name Barolo’s top five Crus in terms of quality and prestige. Vigna Rionda is historically Serralunga’s most revered vineyard and the source of some of the greatest, finest, longest-lived Barolo. The Massolino family took ownership of their first parcel in 1956, and new parcels directly adjoining the existing vines were purchased in 1967, 1985, and 1987. This took Massolino’s holding to the 3.5 hectares of vines (two planted to Nebbiolo).

On some of the oldest soils of Barolo, there is very little topsoil here, with a high concentration of limestone, oxidised iron and other mineral elements. Vigna Rionda’s soil can be traced back to the Lequio Formation, the oldest soil of the Barolo area, originating in the Serravallian period between 13 and 11 million years ago. The limestone presence differentiates this vineyard from many other Barolo vineyards; the soils limit vigour and ensure consistent phenolic ripeness. In fact, within the Barolo area, Vigna Rionda, at roughly 14%, boasts one of the highest limestone contents in the entire Barolo zone.

The vines are at 250 to 360 metres’ altitude and protected from northerly winds and frost by the south/southwest aspect. This vineyard generates wines with an optimum balance of perfume, finesse, concentration and structure rarely found in Barolo. Excellent acidity and tannins are a feature of Vigna Rionda wines, so they require longer aging in botti and bottle. This is why Massolino’s Vigna Rionda is always released with a minimum of six years of age. Always aged in large cask, 2017 was the second vintage where Massolino’s Vigna Rionda also fermented in large wood. It spent 20 days on skins and then aged for 30 months in a 7,000-litre Stockinger botte.

The Bricco Boschis Cru is a truly profound vineyard: an amphitheatre-shaped site producing this estate’s most emblematic Barolo. This comes from vines with an average age of 50 years, primarily situated in two parcels within this vineyard. The first is Punta Marcello, which lies at the top of the slope next to the cantina. This cool terroir is known for its fragrant, pale juice and long, angular tannins. Then, there is the Vigna Colle Sudovest parcel, facing south at a lower elevation. This is the vineyard's warmest microclimate, and the fruit from these vines produces fleshier, more accessible wines with darker, more richly flavoured juice and softer tannins.

The renowned Vigna San Giuseppe vines also contribute something to the blend, and together, these three components form a complete picture of the Cru, complementing each other and building aromatic and structural complexity. The 2019 saw between 28 and 30 days on skins, followed by three years in cask, ranging in size from 20 to 100 hectolitres. It was bottled unfiltered. On this evidence, 2019 has been a brilliant vintage for Cavallotto. Alfio Cavallotto believes the year is quite similar to 2016 in that it is both classical, yet the wine is already approachable on release. What more persuading do you need?

The Bricco Boschis Cru is one of Castiglione Falletto’s most profound vineyards: 

an amphitheatre-shaped site producing this estate’s most emblematic Barolo wines. Facing south/southeast, this sun-drenched hill has long been considered one of Barolo’s blue-ribbon vineyards. The entire planted area covers some 8.8 hectares. Yet, because of variations in soil composition, elevation and aspect, Cavallotto parcellates the site into three subzones: Vigne Colle Sud-Ovest, Punta Marcello and Vigna San Giuseppe. The last of these is also bottled as a single Cru Riserva, which we have here. The densely planted old vines grow at 300-360 metres altitude, and the soils—a patchwork of yellow, white and grey calcareous clays interwoven with sand and sandstone—are as varied as the vineyard’s myriad exposures.

Vigna San Giuseppe is a 3.7-hectare parcel on a steep slope behind the cantina. It has long been considered the sweet spot for this vineyard, consistently delivering one of the region’s greatest Barolos. You get the best of everything: altitude (but not too much); excellent drainage (but enough water retention thanks to the clay, so the vines don’t stress in dry conditions); and a complex mixture of soils, including blue-tinted clays (for power), limestone (freshness and mineral drive) and sand (prettiness and perfume). The stars align to produce something magnificent once you add especially small bunches from the 60-year-old vines, unique clonal material and southwest exposure. This 2017 spent 28 days on skins followed by five years in large cask. Made from half a crop this year, it’s a powerful yet seductive Barolo for which greatness is guaranteed.

A blend of several small parcels of vines from several communes, Le Vigne is Sandrone’s ode to the classic, Barolo-wide blend that was once the norm. All the sites that contribute to Le Vigne are markedly different from each other in terms of altitude, soil and exposure, and together provide a broad overview of Barolo in a given year. 2019 is the first year to include Nebbiolo from Sandrone’s new holding in Le Coste di Monforte (pictured above). Sandrone has been farming this Monforte d’Alba site since 2000. So, from this vintage, Le Vigne includes fruit from five communes: Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba, Novello, Castiglione Falletto and Monforte d’Alba. Regarding the winemaking, wild yeast fermentation begins in tank before malolactic conversion and aging in mostly used, 500-litre French oak casks. Approximately 20-30% of the fruit is fermented as bunches, with the destemmed portion having a very high percentage of whole berries. Time on skins varied from ten days to up to one month. Total time in oak was 20-22 months and the wine was, as always, bottled unfiltered. What can we add to the notes below? Well, the wine is considerably more approachable than Galloni’s note, published 18 months ago, suggests. Indeed, at a dinner this week in Melbourne the wine looked positively charming, served with Bistecca Alla Fiorentina. And for what it’s worth, Barbara Sandrone agrees!