2011 Barbaresco Masseria
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Tasting notes
Malo in barrel, then aged two years in big casks. 4,000 bottles produced. Sweetly perfumed with cherry and a light note of vanilla. Beautifully fresh, lively and tight on the palate, a touch peppery and spiced. Tightly structured but the texture is extremely fine. As it opens up, a hint of sweet tobacco. Pure and red-fruited, already charming but with a future. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A beautiful single cru with depth and richness. Very velvety. Full-bodied with a round, velvety texture and a balsamic, earth, dried-fruit and plum aftertaste. This has concentration and depth for the future but delicious already.
The 2011 Barbaresco Masseria could be classified as a Riserva given the fact it sees one extra year of aging before its commercial release. In an effort to adhere to local tradition, the word Riserva is not used. The wine offers ample expressiveness with dark consistency and beautifully intense aromas of dark fruit, spice and toasted almond. It is aged in botte grande for 36 months.
Vietti's 2011 Barbaresco Masseria is gorgeous. Floral and spiced notes meld into a core of rich, generous fruit in an ample, large-scaled Barbaresco built on pure resonance. The Masseria is vinified and aged like Vietti's single-vineyard Barolos, which is to say long fermentations, six months in French oak and two-plus years in cask. That, along with the warm vintage and broad shoulders of Neive yields a Barbaresco with distinct Barolo inflections. With time in the glass, the wine gains volume and breadth. Priced at half the level of Vietti's vineyard designate Barolos, the Masseria is a fabulous value relative to other wines of this pedigree.