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Description
Here are the six wines tasted in the Different Drop Nebbiolo Showdown of 2025. This is a limited edition pack, there are only 12 packs available as the 2022 Lambert Nebbiolo is a cellar release from Luke's private collection.
- 2022 Massolino Barbaresco
- 2021 G.D Vajra Barolo Albe
- 2023 ArPePe Rosso di Valtellina
- 2019 Protero Capo Nebbiolo
- 2021 Castagna Barbarossa Nebbiolo
- 2022 Lambert Nebbiolo
2022 Massolino Barbaresco
For decades Massolino was synonymous with Serralunga, but in 2018 the family realised a long-held dream: to make Barbaresco. They secured prized parcels in Neive’s Albesani, Serraboella, and Starderi vineyards - sites that together capture the essence of the commune. Serraboella provides the backbone with its fine structure, Albesani lends fragrance, while Starderi brings depth and warmth.
The 2022 release is a beautiful expression of these sites and of the Massolino style - traditional, precise, and unforced. It spent its time in large Slavonian oak, allowing the wine’s Nebbiolo purity to shine. The nose is perfumed with wild cherry, cassis, and redcurrant, alongside hints of lilac and dried herbs. The palate is bright and finessed, with silky fruit and those signature Barbaresco tannins - dusty, persistent, and refined.
Despite the warmth of the vintage, this is not a heavy wine. Instead, it shows a quiet poise and elegance, an authentic reflection of Neive and a seamless addition to Massolino’s celebrated range. Drink now for its charm, or allow it to evolve gracefully in the cellar.
2021 G.D Vajra Barolo Albe
Albe is Vajra doing things the old-school way, Giuseppe Vaira's tip of the cap to the great Piemontese winemakers of the 1950s and 1960s.
Before single-vineyard bottlings became the main event, Barolo was all about blending - pulling together fruit from different sites to make something complete. That’s exactly what this is.
It’s a mix of three high-up vineyards - Coste di Vergne, La Volta and Fossati - each facing a different direction, each catching the light in its own way. The 2021 vintage nails the brief: bright red fruit, rose petals, a touch of spice and orange peel, all wrapped up in these fine, grippy tannins that give it shape without getting in the way.
It’s the kind of wine that feels proper without being precious. You could cellar it for a decade and it’ll only get better, but honestly, it’s already drinking beautifully if you give it a little time in the glass. Straight-up value, from a family who knows exactly what they’re doing.
95 points
"Offers more value for your money than most Barolos out there... An enormously versatile expression of Nebbiolo with dark berry, pressed flower and crushed stone aromas; medium-plus texture and silky tannins."
- Monica Larner (Robert Parker Wine Advocate)
94+ points
"Cherry, raspberry, liquorice, warm spices and menthol coolness... A bit of a dark horse here, with good potential given some time in the cellar."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
94 points
"Juicy fruit profile with violets, dried flowers, and menthol; big tannin structure with a firm, tightly wound finish."
- Jacobo Garcia-Andrade Llamas (JamesSuckling.com)
2023 ArPePe Rosso di Valtellina
Fresh, alpine Nebbiolo from the Valtellina region, up near the Swiss border. Prettier and finer than Nebbiolo from Piemonte further to the south, with no new oak to boot.
The flavours and aromas are of raspberry, pine needles, some peppery spice as well. It's medium rather than welterweight, with cool, chalky tannins the support act.
A classically-delicious north Italian red, made from organic fruit and with very minimal inputs. You can't go wrong with this rosso from Arpepe.
93 points
"It’s a darker and more powerful release than is usual. Dark cherry, mint and alpine herbs, chocolate with nuts. Medium-bodied, cherry and dark raspberry, a slight bloody/ferrous thine here, a juiciness to acidity, grainy but ripe chamois-like tannin grip, with a nutty and spicy finish of good length. A bolder expression of this wine, but very good."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
2019 Protero Capo Nebbiolo
If you haven't heard of Stephen Pannell, you've been missing out. He is one of the most talented winemakers in the country and we were thrilled when he first announced his Protero range, which highlights a single vineyard he has sourced fruit from since 2005. Nebbiolo is the star of the site, first planted there in 1999.
Inspired by his time in Piedmont, this is a Nebbiolo which speaks fluently and vibrantly of dried fruits, cigars, rose petals, terracotta, bramble and cherry liqueur. But that's the tip of the iceberg. The wine is gorgeously textured, with firm tannins and amazing length. It was built to last too, and the wine saw 100 days on skins before seeing time in old French oak before bottling.
This is what Nebbiolo is all about.
95 points
"In Australian winemaking circles there are few that know nebbiolo like Steve Pannel, so expectation here is high. And my word, it delivers... It's outstanding, and a torchbearer for the variety in Australia."
- Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)
2021 Castagna Barbarossa Nebbiolo
Julian Castagna’s Barbarossa Nebbiolo comes from the family’s biodynamic vineyard on the granite slopes just outside Beechworth. It’s a site that gives naturally firm, aromatic fruit – perfect for Nebbiolo, though only a small amount is made each year. The 2021 vintage was cool and steady, giving wines with freshness, balance and real clarity of flavour.
Fermentation was wild and slow, with gentle extraction and long time on skins before ageing in old French oak. The approach is typical Castagna – minimal handling, no shortcuts, everything done with patience and precision.
It’s unmistakably Nebbiolo: red cherry, rose, orange peel and that earthy, savoury edge that only this grape can deliver. The palate is taut and structured, with fine, dusty tannins and a long, dry finish. It’s serious but not austere – the kind of wine that makes sense with a good meal and time in the glass.
95 points
"This wine is so fine you find yourself writing tasting notes more in tune with a pinot."
- Jeni Port (Halliday Wine Companion)95 points
"Feels a little pinot-esque but with tannin grip and tension. It’s fabulous."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2022 Lambert Nebbiolo
This wine is always the most anticipated release from the remarkably talented and enigmatic Luke Lambert.
And it's no wonder this is regarded as a benchmark for Australian Nebbiolo. From a single site on unique granite soils in the Yarra Valley, this is quite simply one of the finest examples of this variety you will find anywhere in Aus.
It's made with traditional methodology: wild ferment, extended time on skins and maturation in a combination of old Slavonian and French oak.
This is looking like one of his finest releases to date.
Unfortunately, he only makes this wine in minuscule amounts. Allocations are extremely limited.
95 points
"Red cherry, strawberry, almond meal, a dried rose and mint perfume. It’s medium-bodied, red fruited, quite stony and gentle earthy, tea and almond, fine brick dust tannin, pulls savoury but has this quiet succulence that’s so appealing. The shape and structure of it is top notch. The finish is long, with just a hint of orange peel bitterness. There’d be no mistaking it for anything other than Nebbiolo, and a distinctive and excellent one at that. Unreal."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
| Type | Red |
| Variety | Nebbiolo |
| Feature |
High Score |
| Size | 6 |
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