2020 Massolino Barolo Margheria, Piedmont

I like the freshness and vivid red-fruited character. Medium-bodied with firm, slightly chewy tannins. It’s compact and structured with a tense and lively aftertaste. Vivid and bright with hibiscus undertones to the orange and berry character. Try from 2027, but already very pretty.

95 points jamesuckling.com

The 2020 Barolo Margheria is a very pretty wine that shows the gentler side of the year. Dried herbs, menthol, incense, new leather and licorice all take shape in the glass. The 2020 is a soft, uncharacteristically open-knit Margheria that will drink well with only minimal cellaring.

93 points vinous.com

Strawberry, honey almond, quite some exotic spicy perfume, mint. Medium to full-bodied, has some orange tang through red fruits, dried herbs and amaro bitterness, a fine sandy grip to tannin, with a slightly warm finish of good length. Just a little raw and sappy, but good wine, and better with some time to settle.

93+ points Gary Walsh thewinefront.com.au

Massolino Barolo Margheria is a striking single-cru Barolo from the heart of Serralunga d’Alba, crafted with the precision, depth and structure that have become hallmarks of the Massolino family. The Margheria vineyard sits on limestone-rich soils at around 340 metres above sea level, delivering a wine of classical Serralunga power, but with a graceful edge. It’s a Barolo that walks the line between strength and finesse, offering depth, purity and serious ageing potential.

Fermented in large oak vats using indigenous yeasts, the wine undergoes extended maceration and is aged in large Slavonian oak casks for around 30 months, followed by bottle maturation before release. This traditional approach allows the vineyard character to shine through — brooding, mineral, and built to last.

The nose opens with dried cherry, rose petal, sweet tobacco, tar, orange peel and crushed stones. The palate is full bodied and firm, yet refined, showing red berry fruit, anise, iron, dried herbs and fine-grained tannins that build through the long, dry finish. There’s great definition and a sense of verticality to the wine — it’s compact and serious but never heavy.

Food pairing: ideal with slow-braised beef, wild mushroom risotto, truffle pasta, aged cheeses or classic Piedmontese dishes like brasato al Barolo or tajarin with veal ragù.

Cellar potential: this is a long-distance runner. While decanting helps bring it into focus now, it will evolve beautifully over 15 to 25+ years, gaining more complexity, earthiness and savoury nuance.