Wine & Spirits - Fall 2022 - 69

Top 100 Wineries
ITALY | PIEDMONT
Fratelli Alessandria
Fratelli Alessandria's wines from Verduno and Monforte d'Alba
present Barolo in an elegant style.
VITTORE alESSaNDRIa
rising above the tanaro river on the
Barolo zone's northern boundary, Verduno's
vineyards enjoy cool evening breezes that,
along with the limestone-rich soils, lend elegance
and perfume to the comune's wines.
When the Alessandria family established
this estate in the 19th century, Verduno was
one of Barolo's leading production centers,
but, by the 1990s, its lighter style of wines
had fallen out of favor as the market chased
power and extraction. Recently, Verduno
has regained its prominence, due largely to
the efforts of winemakers like Vittore Alessandria,
who currently runs this estate with
his father and uncle. The family has always
maintained a traditional approach in the cellar;
they work with ambient-yeast fermentations
and large Slavonian oak casks, eschewing
rotofermenters and new barriques.
Other than a five-acre plot in the Gramolere
cru of Monforte d'Alba, all of the Alessandria
family's Barolo vineyards lie in Verduno,
including several choice plots in Monvigliero,
the comune's " grand cru " site. -S.J.
2017 Barolo Monvigliero ($110, 96 points)
Frost in April was followed by drought that kept
yields low in 2017, but the fruit that remained
in Monvigliero gave a Barolo that is poised and
elegant, its red-cherry and strawberry flavors
wrapped around a core of chalky tannins exuding
bright energy. Finesse continues in the wine's
scents of rose and lilac, and the subtle notes of
white pepper that enliven the red-fruit tones.
FOUNDED:
1870
WINEMAKER:
Vittore Alessandria
VITICULTURISTS:
Giovan Battista &
Alessandro
Alessandria
OWNER:
The Alessandria family
ACRES OWNED:
37
ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
7,500 cases
ESTATE GROWN:
100%
IMPORTER:
North Berkeley
Imports, Berkeley, CA
2017 Barolo San Lorenzo di Verduno ($82,
94 points) Alessandria's San Lorenzo plot is
just a few hundred feet away from Monvigliero,
a little lower and less steep; the wine is typically
more reticent, but tends to show well early in
warm vintages. That is certainly true of the rich
and mouthfilling 2017 San Lorenzo, all curves
and rounded edges, its suave texture flowing
with flavors of dark cherry and plum. Accented
by notes of licorice and white pepper, it takes on
savory tones toward the long, harmonious finish.
2017 Barolo Gramolere ($86, 95 points) A
cru in Monforte d'Alba, Gramolere has heavier
clay soils that yield firmly structured wines. The
Alessandrias' plot is higher in elevation than
their Verduno vineyards, and the 2017 shows
impressive nuance for a young Barolo from a
warm vintage, its red cherry and berry flavors
tangy and vibrant, riding on cool, polished tannins.
Notes of licorice emerge with air, already
well-integrated with the red-fruit tones.
ITALY | PIEDMONT
Massolino
Winemakers in Serralunga d'Alba for more than 120 years,
the Massolino family's Barolos exhibit power and grace.
ROBERTO (l) &
FRaNCO MaSSOlINO
the Massolino faMily's identity is deeply
rooted in Serralunga d'Alba, Barolo's easternmost
sector known for powerfully structured,
long-lived wines. Its cellar sits in the
heart of Serralunga village, and Massolino
owns about one-third of Vignarionda, Serralunga's
most acclaimed vineyard. In 2015
the family expanded the underground cellar,
adding several new 50-hectoliter Garbellotto
tini-upright, conical oak casks that
allow the wines to ferment more slowly;
that, and fewer rackings, has minimized the
wines' exposure to oxygen, amplifying the
pure red-cherry flavors and fresh rose-petal
aromas of the nebbiolo in their five Barolos.
Demonstrating an unwavering commitment
to quality, Massolino decided not to release
any single-cru Barolos from the damp 2018
vintage, instead combining all of the fruit
from Vignarionda, Parafada, Margheria
and Parussi into one Barolo classico. Fans
of Massolino Barolo have something else to
anticipate, as the family recently purchased
vineyards in Barbaresco and will release
their first wines in the Fall of 2022. -S.J.
2017 Barolo Parafada ($114, 97 points) A
late April frost in 2017 was followed by drought
conditions from June until harvest, reducing production
at Parafada by 30 percent. Yet there's no
trace of dried or overripe fruit here: The 55-yearold
vines reached into Parafada's limestone soils
to find water reserves from the abundant snows
of the previous winter. The 2017 Parafada is one
of the wines of the vintage, its red-cherry flavors
perfectly ripe, the acidity fresh and taut, the tannins
firm and polished.
FOUNDED:
1896
WINEMAKERS/
VITICULTURISTS:
Franco, Roberto &
Renato Massolino
ENOLOGIST:
Giovanni Angeli
OWNER:
The Massolino family
ACRES OWNED:
150; 125 planted
ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
35,000 cases
ESTATE GROWN:
100%
IMPORTER:
Vineyard Brands,
Birmingham, AL
2017 Barolo Parussi ($114, 96 points) Massolino's
success in the 2017 vintage isn't limited
to their Serralunga crus. This vibrant wine comes
from the neighboring village of Castiglione Falletto,
where the family purchased four hilltop
acres of vines within Parussi in 2007. It shows
flavors of juicy red cherry and raspberry laced
together by taut, ferrous tannins. Notes of licorice,
menthol and fresh rose petals add even
more lift and detail to the wine.
2017 Barolo ($53, 94 points) This classic
Barolo seems unaffected by the heat and
drought of the 2017 season, its vibrant redcherry
and berry flavors infused with mouthwatering
acidity. The cool, ferrous tannins place the
wine firmly in Serralunga, the source of about 90
percent of its fruit. Balanced, fresh and firm, it
has plenty of stuffing for the long haul.
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Wine & Spirits - Fall 2022

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