# Massolino: Vigna Rionda, a Swapped Plot and 130 Years in Serralunga _How a Serralunga family built the biggest holding in Vigna Rionda one parcel at a time, then stepped into Barbaresco in 2019._ > Il Vino Bello, 2026-10-22. Il Vino Bello editorial (https://ilvinobello.com/editorial/massolino-vigna-rionda-a-swapped-plot-and-130-years-in-serralunga). In 1896 Giovanni Massolino sold his first wine in Serralunga d'Alba. One hundred and thirty years later his great-grandchildren farm the largest share of Vigna Rionda, a hillside that, in the estate's words, many regard as the Barolo of Serralunga par excellence, and this month their black-label Vigna Rionda Riserva 2020 was among Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri for Piemonte. [Massolino](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/massolino-vigna-rionda) is our Winery of the Week. ## A notebook and a hill The family dates its beginning from a leather-bound notebook kept by Giovanni, now in the care of his grandson Renato. Like most Langhe farms then, it was mixed: fruit, vegetables, livestock and bulk wine. The change came with his son Giuseppe, who in 1934 helped found the consortium that protects Barolo and Barbaresco and, in the same year, started selling a small amount of wine in bottle. The story of Vigna Rionda begins in 1956, when the family inherited some vines there from an aunt, Matilde Ornato. The estate's own timeline then reads like a slow campaign. In 1957 it bought its first cru, Parafada. In 1967 Giuseppe secured a small piece of Vigna Rionda by giving up a plot twice its size in exchange, which the family calls "a bet, of course, but also an act of faith" (our translation). Larger parcels followed in 1986, and the last one arrived in 1990. In the 1990s the fourth generation, Franco, Roberto and Paola, joined the business, and they later took over from Renato, Giovanni and Camilla. The oenologist is Giovanni Angeli. ## Vigna Rionda before and after the Massolinos The estate has also traced the vineyard's older past. From 1340, it says, the Falletti family owned the hill until 1860, and after the death of Juliette Colbert, the last of the Falletti, it passed to the Opera Pia Barolo. In 1879 Giovanni Gagna of Monforte published an agrarian inquiry into winemaking in the Langhe, and Vigna Rionda is one of the few vineyards he names for excellent wines. Today Massolino holds about 3 of the MGA's 10.24 hectares, the biggest holding on the hill, according to the family, and has bottled it on its own without a break since the 1982 vintage. The vines sit at about 300 metres on calcareous marl and are up to 50 years old. The [Vigna Rionda Riserva](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-vigna-rionda-riserva) spends up to 42 months in large oak casks and up to 24 more in bottle, and it is the only wine in the range that leaves the cellar in its sixth year. In the best years there is a second label. The [Etichetta Nera](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-vigna-rionda-riserva-etichetta-nera) project began in 2022 with the 2016 vintage and is meant to continue only in vintages of "absolute excellence" (our translation). The 2020 is the second. The estate's vintage notes describe a wet May and June that called for careful work against downy mildew, a warm summer without extreme peaks, and a September of wide gaps between day and night temperatures, with picking from late September into the first half of October. The family calls the wine unusually silky for Vigna Rionda, with floral notes and fresh red fruit, comparing its grace to great Pinot Noir. On 16 October it appeared on Gambero Rosso's Piemonte list of Tre Bicchieri 2027, which we covered in our [round-up of the winners](https://ilvinobello.com/editorial/tre-bicchieri-2027-piemontes-winners-from-barolo-to-alta-langa). ## The other crus, and a step into Barbaresco The family describes its classic Barolo as the "chorus" of its vineyards and the single crus as the "soloists". All of them are made the same traditional way: long fermentation and maceration in oak vats at around 30°C, then large oak casks. The estate sums up its approach as "we must not add, but refine" (our translation). - [Margheria](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-margheria), first made in 1985: about 1.5 hectares at 280 metres in Serralunga, on calcareous soil with a little more sand than the other sites, up to 30 months in large casks. - Parafada: 1.2 hectares facing full south at 320 metres, sheltered from the wind, with the estate's oldest vines at around 60 years; first vintage 1990. - [Parussi](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-parussi): bought in 2006 and first made in 2007, the only Massolino Barolo from outside Serralunga, from 1.65 hectares on the crest of a hill in Castiglione Falletto. In 2019 the family stepped into Barbaresco. Wine Spectator reported in June 2019 that Massolino had agreed to rent nearly 10 acres, about four hectares, in Neive, across the Albesani, Serraboella and Starderi crus. The first vintage that year produced two wines, a [Barbaresco](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-barbaresco) from several plots and the single-vineyard [Albesani](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-albesani), aged up to 18 months in large casks. ## Beyond Nebbiolo The estate's highest vineyard is in Monforte d'Alba, at about 530 metres. According to the same Wine Spectator report, the family bought land in Monforte in 2013, just outside the Barolo zone, and planted Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Riesling and Chardonnay. The [Langhe Riesling](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-langhe-riesling) has come from there since 2017; it rests on its lees in steel for 8 to 10 months, and part of it ages in terracotta amphorae. Barbera gets a serious bottling too. [Gisep](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-barbera-d-alba-doc-gisep), first made in 1998, takes its name from the Piedmontese form of Giuseppe, a tribute to the grandfather. Made only in the best vintages, it matures in French barriques and large Slavonian casks for up to 18 months. For everyday drinking there are the steel-fermented [Barbera d'Alba](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-barbera-d-alba), the [Dolcetto d'Alba](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-dolcetto-d-alba) and a [Langhe Nebbiolo](https://ilvinobello.com/wines/massolino-vigna-rionda-langhe-nebbiolo) blended from several Langhe communes. ## Visiting Massolino In 2015 the family built a new cellar right in front of the old family house, in the historic centre of Serralunga. Visits are by appointment only. They take in a panoramic terrace over some of the estate's vineyards and the casks in the cellar, and end with a tasting in the old family sitting room. The shop is open Monday to Saturday, from 9.00 to 13.00 and from 14.00 to 18.00. To arrange a visit, write to visite@massolino.it. ## Sources - https://www.massolino.it/cantina-a-serralunga-d-alba/storia/ - https://www.massolino.it/cantina-a-serralunga-d-alba/chi-siamo/ - https://www.massolino.it/scrivere-nel-tempo/famiglia/ - https://www.massolino.it/scrivere-nel-tempo/filosofia/ - https://www.massolino.it/scrivere-nel-tempo/terroir/ - https://www.massolino.it/vigna-rionda-vigneto-serralunga-d-alba/ - https://www.massolino.it/i-nostri-vini/barolo-docg-vigna-rionda-riserva/ - https://www.massolino.it/i-nostri-vini/barolo-docg-vigna-rionda-riserva-etichetta-nera/ - https://www.massolino.it/i-nostri-vini/barolo-vigna-rionda-riserva-2020-etichetta-nera/ - https://www.massolino.it/i-nostri-vigneti/ - https://www.massolino.it/visite-degustazioni/ - https://vinodabere.it/gambero-rosso-i-tre-bicchieri-2027-del-piemonte/ (16 Oct 2026) - https://www.winespectator.com/articles/barolo-wine-star-massolino-expands-into-barbaresco (5 Jun 2019)