Clear skies, crystal-clear rivers and clean air: the 2020 vintage started while the world was in lockdown. Going to work in the vineyards was one of the few permissible activities at the time (lucky vignaioli!).

The most genuine producers confess to having taken extraordinarily good care of their vines during the Covid pandemic like never before. No fairs, no visiting importers, no tastings.

Barbaresco wines from 2020 emerged as graceful with unexpected, sweet tannins.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Barbaresco 2020 wines

Tasting notes and scores for Aldo’s top Barbaresco 2020 wines:

The following wines all scores 93 points or above

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Austerity is not all the same: Nebbiolo is more austere than Pinot Noir and Sangiovese; Barolo is more austere than Barbaresco; the stern texture of Monforte and Serralunga is different from that of the village of Barolo, which itself is different from La Morra.

Austerity aside, Barolo Riserva are also less ready to drink, mostly due to their traditionally higher extraction. However, if there is a specific justification for the more austere character of a wine, it can be found in the vintage – and 2017 was that kind of vintage.

Scroll down to see the top-scoring Barolo 2017 Riserva wines

View all 26 Barolo 2017 Riserva from Aldo’s vintage report

View the score table with all 165 Barolo 2019 & Barolo 2017 Riservas from Aldo’s report

The 2017 vintage

Top-scoring Barolo Riserva 2017 wines

The wines below all scored 96 points or above 

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Scroll down to see the top-scoring Barolo 2019 wines

The 2019 vintage

The adjective ‘classic’ can only partly be intended, as it is in Bordeaux, to indicate wines that are less concentrated. Here in Barolo, ‘classic’ refers to traditional, old-fashioned or even old-school styles – a ‘classic’ vintage is more austere than supple.

Barolo 2019: Top-scoring wines

The following 25 wines all scored 96 points or above

View the score table with all 165 Barolo 2019 & Barolo 2017 Riservas from Aldo’s report

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Alto Piemonte is the collective term for several small DOCs in northern Piedmont, situated almost 100 miles northeast of Alba. It includes Boca, Bramaterra, Faro, Gattinara, Ghemme, Lessona and Sizzano. Through the middle of this cluster of vineyards runs the Sesia river.

Aldo’s top Nebbiolo picks from Alto Piemonte

Wines tasted in February 2022 in Alba at the annual Nebbiolo Prima event, the vintage preview organised by Consorzio Albeisa

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Defined as ‘the harvest of the dust’, 2017 was remembered as an impressively dry vintage.

Aldo’s pick of Barbaresco Riserva 2017 wines:

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The post Barbaresco Riserva 2017 vintage report plus top picks appeared first on Decanter.

More elegant and less powerful in style, Barbaresco suffered much more in the lean 2018 vintage than Barolo. The hail and downy mildew, for those who were affected by it, further complicated things. In 2019, patchy hail was present again. Angelo Gaja, for instance, did not produce his estate’s top selections, Sorì San Lorenzo and Sorì Tildin. Although Angelo was not convinced, his sons persuaded him to blend the Sorì into the Barbaresco.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Barbaresco 2019 wines

Aldo’s top Barbaresco 2019 recommendations:

Wines tasted in February 2022 in Alba at the annual Nebbiolo Prima event, the vintage preview organised by Consorzio Albeisa

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Barolo is dominated by pricey bottles but there’s still relative value to be found.

The wines below all come in at under £50/€60/$70 retail which, although isn’t exactly pocket money, is still a great proposition for Nebbiolo from one of Italy’s premier denominations.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of top value Barolo 2018 wines

In his 2018 vintage report, Aldo Fiordelli notes that ‘the Barolo 2018 vintage has produced some delicious, open-knit and approachable wines due to moderate acidity and ripe tannins, as well as good complexity displayed in the top examples. But mostly, it’s just very tasty!’

Top-value Barolo 2018

95 points

• Luigi Pira, Margheria, Barolo (Serralunga d’Alba) – £44 / $68

94 points

• Massolino, Barolo – £33 / $39
• Mauro Molino, Gallinotto, Barolo – £45 / $50
• Brezza Sarmassa, Barolo – £46 / $70

93 points

• Monchiero, Rocche di Castiglione, Barolo (Castiglione Falletto) £39
• Schiavenza, Cerretta, Barolo (Serralunga d’Alba) – £41 / $69
• Marco Marengo, Brunate Barolo – £46

92 points

• Bera, Barolo – £37
• Elvio Cogno, Cascina Nuova, Barolo (Novello) – £39 / $49
• Poderi Luigi Einaudi, Bussia, Barolo (Monforte d’Alba) – £46

90 points

• Dosio, Serradenari, Barolo (La Morra) – £38
• Parusso Perarmando, Barolo (Monforte d’Alba) £39 / $52
• Renato Ratti, Marcenasco, Barolo (La Morra) £45 / $45

Prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

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The 2016 vintage is one of the best in Barolo, indeed since at least 2010 which is comparable in the exceptional quality produced in terms of both Barolo and Castiglione Falletto.

Many previous vintages have tended to favour a specific appellation or soil type; Tortonian soils versus Serravallian soils; cooler or warmer expositions and so on whereas the 2016 wines seem to have performed well across the whole region.

Scroll down to see the Barolo Riserva 2016 tasting notes and scores

Barolo 2016

Aldo’s Barolo Riserva 2016 recommendations:

Wines tasted in February 2022 in Alba at the annual Nebbiolo Prima event, the vintage preview organised by Consorzio Albeisa

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The Barolo 2018 vintage has produced some delicious, open-knit and approachable wines due to moderate acidity and ripe tannins, as well as good complexity displayed in the top examples. But mostly, it’s just very tasty!

Is it a great vintage? Probably not, but only because the ageing potential is supposedly shorter.

Aldo’s top Barolo 2018 recommendations

Wines tasted in February 2022 in Alba at the annual Nebbiolo Prima event, the vintage preview organised by Consorzio Albeisa

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The greatest excitement around wines such as Langhe Nebbiolo is not only the drinkability compared to fellow territorial teammates like Barolo and Barbaresco, but also the bang for your buck.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Aldo’s top-rated Langhe Nebbiolo 2019 and 2018 wines

The eagerness to taste these wines as soon as one can is understandable, as it’s an opportunity for wine lovers to foresee the quality of their more noble Langhe counterparts in any given vintage, one or two years before Barolo and Barbaresco are released.

Top Langhe Nebbiolo 2019 and 2018

View all 23 Langhe Nebbiolo wines tasted

View all 23 Langhe Nebbiolo wines tasted

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Nebbiolo is properly considered one of the grape varieties with the longest growing season.

The 2016 vintage, according to the consorzio for Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani, ‘was certainly one of the longest-lasting vintages in recent years’.

It’s possible to see in this the complexity achieved by the Barbaresco Riserva 2016 wines.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Aldo’s top-rated Barbaresco Riserva 2016 wines

Though the Barolos from this vintage won’t be released for another year due to differing minimum ageing requirements, producers are now releasing their Barbaresco Riserva from the 2016 vintage.

The 2016 season

Aldo’s top-rated Barbaresco Riserva 2016 wines:

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The 2015 vintage

2015 was a warm yet good vintage.

According to Langhe Vini, the consorzio for Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani, ‘the climatic conditions recorded at the beginning of the summer laid the foundations for the ripening of the grapes about 10 days earlier than in the previous vintage, but in line with what we would call a “normal” year.

‘In terms of quantity, production was on average within the norm.’

Scroll down to see Aldo’s top-scoring Barolo Riserva 2015 wines

The insolation improved the colour-giving anthocyanins accumulated within the grapes.

In the finished wines, the quality of the tannins ensures elegant, long-lasting Riserva with good structure.

Top Barolo Riserva 2015 wines:

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It will not be easy to bring wine lovers together to talk about the 2018 vintage in Barbaresco.

There were several objective challenges throughout the growing season, not without some extremes. But there is undoubtedly a certain appeal to these wines, which are less extracted than usual.

‘In the 1970s, Barbaresco shined for “less”: less concentration, less structure, less expensive,’ quips Angelo Gaja. ‘Today, things have changed,’ he concludes. Well, that’s not quite true in the 2018 vintage – a return to the “less” character in this cool, damp and fresh vintage.

It’s deserving of four stars but should be intended for short-term drinking rather than long cellaring.

Scroll down to see Aldo’s top-scoring Barbaresco 2018 wines

The 2018 vintage

The 2018 vintage started with a long winter with plentiful rainfall, restoring the soil’s water supply which had diminished due to the dry 2017 season.

Aldo’s top Barbaresco 2018 wines:

View all 40 wines

View all 40 Barbaresco 2018 wines

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The post Barbaresco 2018 vintage report: 40 wines tasted appeared first on Decanter.

Barolo can be divided into two broad categories – those simply labeled Barolo and those bearing an additional geographical designation (menzioni geografiche aggiuntive, or MGA). Infinitely more romantic, ‘cru’ is commonly (though inaccurately) used interchangeably with MGA to indicate these smaller defined areas within the larger region.

Barolo’s MGAs have given value and order to its diverse land, with cru bottlings a vehicle to express that.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores from the Barolo MGA 2016 late releases

Sites like Prapò, Lazzarito and Parafada demonstrate the vigorous structure of Serralunga but each with a slightly different voice. Conversely, Rocchettevino and Gattera exhibit the finer frame and evocative perfume of La Morra, with the latter characterised by haunting truffle nuances. And Bricco Rocche is just one example of the alliance of power and finesse that Castiglione Falletto’s crus can achieve.

Differences between crus are crystal clear in 2016. ‘A great vintage is when every hill does its homework,’ concurs Giacomo Conterno at Aldo Conterno.

See tasting notes and scores for the Barolo MGA 2016 late releases

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Barolo’s lengthy ageing requirements – a minimum of 38 months – stipulate that the wines cannot be released until the fourth January following harvest. This means that the highly anticipated 2016 vintage was first previewed in January 2020.

At that early stage, some wines are not yet bottled and various producers hold off until annual trade fairs held in spring, or occassionally even longer, before a formal introduction. ‘We prefer to wait in order to propose expressive wines with a degree of harmony that make them representative of the vintage,’ says Federica Oberto at Ciabot Berton.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Barolo classico 2016 late releases

As wine tastings and travel had essentially ground to a halt by March last year, many wines were released without fanfare. The silver lining for Barolo producers is that the reputation of 2016 had customers clamouring regardless.

See the tasting notes and scores for Barolo classico 2016 late releases:

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Most of the Alto Piemonte wines were tasted in December 2019 during a visit to the top estates of the region.

Stephen’s top Alto Piemonte wines:

More from Stephen’s Nebbiolo report:

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The post Alto Piemonte latest releases: 12 top picks appeared first on Decanter.

Barbaresco 2017

‘In this vintage,’ says Gaia Gaja, ‘we had 80 days without rain during the summer.’ Europe is getting used to these scorching summers, but they can be problematic in often marginal areas such as Barbaresco, where the aim had always been to reserve the most favoured slopes for Nebbiolo that needed to be fully ripe. Today, optimal exposure can be a drawback, increasing the risk of sunburnt grapes.

Stephen’s top Barbaresco 2017 & Barbaresco Riserva 2015 wines:

See all 38 wines tasted

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The great majority of these wines were tasted blind in January 2020 at the Nebbiolo Prima event in Alba, while others were tasted (non-blind) at the Grandi Langhe event that followed immediately after in Alba.

Stephen’s top Barolo 2016 & Barolo Riserva 2014 wines:

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Barolo Riserva 2013

The problem with 2013 was disease, or at least the constant threat of disease.

See all of Stephen’s Barolo Riserva 2013 tasting notes & scores

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Barolo 2015

After the nail-biting climatic conditions in 2014, growers were relieved that 2015 proved less trying.

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