2020 Barbaresco, Massolino, Piedmont, Italy

Neive. Lustrous mid-ruby. Quite closed on the nose with just a suggestion of dark spice and ripe cherry and just a hint of Band-Aid. Supple, elegant and with minerally notes and bags of chewy tannins. Cool-climate style. Drink 2023 - 2028Walter Speller, JancisRobinson.com (July 2023)

The Massolino 2020 Barbaresco is slightly closed at this young stage and needs a little more time in bottle. You do get soft cherry and wild cassis with crushed stone and blue flower. It just needs more time to come together. Production is an ample 20,000 bottles.Drink 2024 - 2035monica_larner, Wine Advocate (August 2023)

A fragrant nose with spiced cherries, dried strawberry bush, chocolate and dark spices. Hints of bark, too. Medium-bodied with savoury character and firm tannin structure. Balanced and even with a velvety finish. Drink after 2025james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (July 2023)

The 2020 Barbaresco is a terrific follow up to the 2019. A wine of nerve and grace, the 2020 sizzles with energy. Finely sculpted red/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, crushed rocks and orange zest all grace this super-expressive, mid-weight Barbaresco. An explosion of sweet floral and spice notes lifts the gorgeous, beautifully perfumed, vibrant finish. I love the classicism here.Massolino presented a glorious set of new releases, one of the finest ranges I can recall tasting in more than twenty years of visiting the estate. The 2020 Barbarescos build on last year’s wines. Both are exquisite. After a challenging 2018, Massolino bounces back with a set of 2019 Barolos, wines that impress with their purity and profound expressions of site. Last but certainly not least is the majestic 2017 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda, a wine that will soon take its place as one of the very finest Barolos ever made here. “It was a warm year, but the heat was well-distributed, with most of it taking place in June and July rather than in the fall when the vines are more vulnerable,” Franco Massolino explained. “We had healthy rains after those summer spikes, and the weather settled into a much more typical pattern. Our harvest started in mid-October.” The Massolino wines are notable for a style that blends old-school classicism with contemporary polish. Drink 2025 - 2040 antonio_galloni, Vinous.com.com (January 2023)