2019 Massolino Barolo Parussi, Piedmont

The Massolino clan purchased a 1.3-hectare plot of this cru in 2007; it is the only Barolo vineyard that they own outside of Serralunga. Though Parussi is in fact situated close to the Serralunga border, but in Castiglione Falletto. The iron-rich, ‘blue clay’ soils here are a little lighter, more oxygenated, with more silt and less clay than Serralunga. This makes for more vigour in the vines and a completely different style of wine. The Massolino family were attracted by the excellent south-easterly and south-westerly exposure of the vines, the vineyard’s situation at 300 metres above sea level on the crest of the hill, and the 45-year-old vines. Today, they are the only Barolo producer to bottle a single vineyard wine from this cru. So an important wine of place. The commune of Castiglione lies closer to the geographical centre of Barolo and generally generates a more masculine wine with tannins that can be more prominent when young. Again, this might be the best example of Parussi so far. The Massolino team are getting a deeper understanding of this vineyard with each vintage and have evolved the viticulture and the winemaking. Most significantly they are now performing a more gentle extraction and the result is a wine of far greater finesse than we have seen in previous releases. Parussi’s silty soils show through in an inkier and more robust profile than the Serralunga wines. The 2015 Parussi is bursting with lovely juicy, wild forest fruit and grenadine notes underpinned by an intense, mineral freshness and fresh walnut-like tannins. A beautiful Barolo that closes with a super long, mint-and-lavender-and-cherry-scented finish.