A little while ago, I asked a highly regarded Australian winemaker, if he had only one last wine to drink before his death, what would it be? I expected him to either pick one of his Shiraz or Grenache. Instead, he said; the 2001 Massolino Vigna Rionda. The Vignarionda vineyard is the legendary south and west facing vineyard in Serralunga, Piedmont. I tasted wine from this vineyard for the first time at my recent Piedmont visit. I have only one bottle of this in my cellar, the 2004 Massolino Vigna Rionda Reserva. I thought the evening of the opening match of the Matildas at the world cup soccer would be a good time to open it.
Ten wineries share this vineyard. Massolino has by far the largest holding. Naturally, my expectations were very high. This can sometimes be a problem. As it turned out this wine was a very classic, well made Barolo, but I was missing the expected x factor.
Tar and roses, black cherry, licorice, some cola fill the mouth of this dark wine, typical for Serralunga. This wine is quite austere and a little unyielding. Earthy and savoury flavours dominate. It is very elegant on the mid palate, but the very dry tannins lead to a dry, mouth-plucking finish. This is a traditional Barolo, seems a bit old fashioned now, where more emphasis on fruit and freshness is common.
Score: 95/++
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