2018 Barolo, Cascina Massara Burlotto, Piedmont, Italy
Critics reviews
The 2018 Barolo is aromatic, gracious and light on its feet. Sweet dark cherry, lavender, rose petal, mint, spice and sage are nicely delineated in this ethereal, gracious Barolo. Drink it over the next decade or so. The classico is built on a core of Breri, plus pieces of the other sites that don't make it into the Acclivi.
Drink 2023 - 2033
Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (Feb 2022)
Palish youthful ruby. Lively, pretty, perfumed cherry nose and juicy elegant raspberry palate with fine, grainy, crunchy tannins. Long, elegant and delicious. Likely to be one of this vintage's best buys.
Drink 2022 - 2028
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com (Nov 2021)
About this WINE
Cascina Massara Burlotto
Cascina Massara, made up of father and son team Giancarlo and Gianluca, is a third of the split Burlotto family. While Giancarlo and Gianluca are much more understated than Castello di Verduno or G.B. Burlotto, they are slowly realising their potential, and have both the expertise and vineyards to match their relatives’ fame.
Their 100% Verduno vineyards span the various altitudes, aspects and soils of the village, and their co-fermented Barolo Classico is testament to this outstanding, varied terroir. Massara is the name of both the family’s Cascina, and their most iconic single vineyard. A rare gem, this old-vine plot yields wines with high-toned aromatics, gripping energy and cool-fruit charisma. It’s unusual in Barolo for a significant vineyard to be owned by such few people, but while the Massara cru is little-known, this will not remain the case for very long.
Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is the grape behind the Barolo and Barbaresco wines and is hardly ever seen outside the confines of Piedmont. It takes its name from "nebbia" which is Italian for fog, a frequent phenomenon in the region.
A notoriously pernickety grape, it requires sheltered south-facing sites and performs best on the well-drained calcareous marls to the north and south of Alba in the DOCG zones of Barbaresco and Barolo.
Langhe Nebbiolo is effectively the ‘second wine’ of Piedmont’s great Barolo & Barbarescos. This DOC is the only way Langhe producers can declassify their Barolo or Barbaresco fruit or wines to make an early-drinking style. Unlike Nebbiolo d’Alba, Langhe Nebbiolo can be cut with 15% other red indigenous varieties, such as Barbera or Dolcetto.
Nebbiolo flowers early and ripens late, so a long hang time, producing high levels of sugar, acidity and tannins; the challenge being to harvest the fruit with these three elements ripe and in balance. The best Barolos and Barbarescos are perfumed with aromas of tar, rose, mint, chocolate, liquorice and truffles. They age brilliantly and the very best need ten years to show at their best.
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Description
This delightful Barolo is co-fermented with fruit from across the family’s vineyards. The character of this wine is fuller and richer than usual, with plenty of open-knit fruit on the palate. Co-fermentation gives this wine a calm, integrated complexity. This is a Barolo of great composure and pleasure, with notes of rose, peach skin, high-toned spice and crunchy minerality – very Pinot-esque. Drink 2022-2030.
Davy Żyw, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (March 2022)
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