According to the available sources, it seems that the Parusso family began to deal with grapes and wines as early as 1901 when the pioneer Gaspare bought his first vineyard in the Mariondino area, in Castiglione Falletto. Since then this family has continued in its symbiotic path with the vine until 1971 when Armando Parusso, from his winery in Cascina Rovella (in Bussia), began to bottle his wine with his own label. The combination of Parusso/quality wine, however, began to spread especially with the work of Marco, the son of Armando, who since 1990 runs the winery “Parusso Armando di Parusso F.lli Società Agricola” assisted by his sister Tiziana.
In order to appreciate Marco’s hard work, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, it is necessary to try to understand the sensitive man, through and through sincere (and sometimes a bit tranchant) which hides behind the vigneron. Marco has dared (and continues to dare) to challenge the conventions and stereotypes that have accompanied Barolo wines for decades, starting from an Amletic doubt, that is if the taste and the aroma, averagely standardized, of those wines corresponded to what the Terroir, exploited in the right way, was able to express. In the light of this doubt Marco began to experiment every aspect of the winemaking phase, starting from the most suitable type of viticulture up to the study of the influence of wood, of various sizes and toasting, on his wines.
Clearly, it is difficult to enclose and synthesize the thought of this man, but you can identify with good security the pillars of his productive philosophy. In the vineyard there is a high density of planting and the spontaneous grassing of the soil, moreover the fertilization, the working and the pruning differ from one tiny vineyard to the other, to better meet the individual needs of each. In the cellar, after pruning and before pressing, the grapes stop to oxygenate for about 3-4 days in a dedicated room with temperature, ventilation and humidity controlled, ionized and added by air propolis that acts as natural antibacterial. This stop allows the grapes to regain their balance, lost after the traumatic cut of the cord that kept them attached to the mother-plant.
Among the wines produced, a special mention deserves his Bricco Rovella, because it comes from the first vine (the Sauvignon) on which Marco began to gain experience, in 1991, in his long work of experimentation. The current recipe of this wine provides for the use of grapes obtained from plants of about 20 years, in Castiglione Falletto and Monforte d’Alba, at about 350 meters above sea level. After the harvest and the oxygenation of the grapes, the soft pressing takes place, then the must is immediately decanted in barriques of first passage, where it carries out the two fermentations (alcoholic and malolactic) constantly in contact with the yeasts. Nine months in barrique, someone else in the bottle, and the wine is ready for sale.
The 2016 vintage has a shiny intense straw color (almost golden), with an aromatic range starting from peach in syrup, tomato leaf, kumquat and grapefruit, accompanied by ripe apricot, bergamot, citron and toasted hazelnut, and final echoes of Normandy butter and boisée. The taste is decidedly articulate and develops from a soft attack supported by an elegant acidity. Then comes into play, in the background, the sapid-mineral component along with the very elegant return of the boisée and the yellow fruit that accompany the sip until a good length closure.
Rating: 90/100
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