In Praise of Piedmont
After tasting 700 wines from the Northern Italian region, JAMES SUCKLING finds some stellar Barolo bottles and decides the 2016s could be even better than the classic 2015s
You’re going to find some great bottles right now if a trip to a wine shop, or a visit online, means buying wine from Italy’s Piedmont region. First, plenty of new and classic quality 2016 Barolos and Barbarescos are now available and they’re reminiscent of the excellent and well-structured 2010s – which some say is one of the best vintages ever. In addition, the hot and dry weather in 2017 made for some wonderfully rich and opulent Barberas that are exciting to drink, due to all their exuberant fruit and ripe tannins. Plus, an array of other wines is available, from bright and fruity whites such as Arneis and Chardonnay to lightly sweet and fruity Moscatos, as well as Dolcettos and blends.
The Barolos and Barbarescos already out, or soon-to-be released, are really something special. I rated three at 100 points: Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016, Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2016 and Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio 2016. I also scored 95 points or more to almost 100 others, including a number of older vintages. It’s a great time to drink and keep great Barolo. It’s hard to go wrong, with just about every year being excellent in the last decade, with the exception of 2014.
“The 2016s Barolos have a great richness in all their components and in tannic structure,” said Roberto Voerzio, who is arguably the master of the appellation now. “The wines have bright colours, very intense aromas and flavours, and are extremely rich in red fruits typical of this variety, with floral scents in the different crus (vineyard sites). All these characteristics give them great harmony and finesse immediately.”
His last comment really hits the nail on the head. I tasted more than 250 different Barolo 2016s and am impressed with how so many have such beautiful early drinkability, yet they have a formidable structure of tannins, fruit and acidity. It’s hard not to drink them now even knowing that they’re wonderful wines for the cellar. I heard that legendary vintages such as 1964 and 1958 were like that when they were young and I can tell you that they’re still great now, because I’ve drunk a number of both these vintages recently and they’re superb.
“These wines are really open and beautiful,” admitted Bruna Giacosa of Bruno Giacosa, for many years one of the great wineries of the region. “You can drink them already. The 2015 was really great, because it had so much fruit but also elegance. It was also more open to drink. The 2016 is different. The wines are more structured. It has more life ahead of it. 2016 was just right because the weather was perfect. Everything came at the same time and at the right time.”
Indeed, everything seems to have come out excellently so far with 2016. I don’t think it’s possible to generalise about certain villages or vineyard sites being better: just about everyone made great wines. So buy, drink and enjoy this marvellous vintage. And don’t forget 2015, which is equally outstanding, but which produced slightly richer and dense reds due to the slightly hotter growing season.
“We love Barolo 2016,” said Luca Currado, the head of the great house of Vietti. “It’s one of the best vintages I made in 30 harvests. I’m sure you have the same comments from all the wineries. The more 2016 I taste from my colleagues, the more I like them!”
At first I didn’t think that 2016 could be better than the excellent 2015 for Barolo, but I have to say the more 2016s I taste the more I like them, too – and the more I think they’re better than 2015 in the end. It’s fair to say that we have two superb back-to-back vintages for Nebbiolo. I think both produced Barolos and Barbaresco that need bottle age before opening. I’d suggest three to four years, but it’s fun to taste and drink them even now.
I’ve rated about 700 wines from Piedmont so far this year and I have more coming. The region really is shining bright in 2020, even though it was slightly overshadowed at the beginning of the year with the monumental release of Brunello di Montalcino 2015.
“We’re extremely happy with the results of our 2016s and we believe that 2017 can be just as exciting but in a different style,” said Pio Boffa of Pio Cesare. “Piedmont has a lot to offer in excellent wine at the moment.”