Panel tasting: Barolo 2006

Stylistically a vintage that divided opinion in its earlier stages, but it came at a significant time for the great Piedmont region. Stephen Brook explains the history and character of 2006 in Barolo

29 wines tasted

Like so many vintages in this complex corner of Piedmont, 2006 had a mixed reception on release. The growing season was complicated. After a cold, wet winter came a hot and dry May, with good weather into early summer. Temperatures cooled in August, but it remained mostly dry until mid-September when there was considerable rainfall. Cooler nights preserved acidity and tannin while most growers waited for drier conditions before harvesting.

Initial assessments varied. Some acclaimed the wines from Serralunga; others detected greenness in some examples. Monforte and Castiglione Falletto were considered to have been successful, but some found La Morra relatively disappointing.

Most agreed, however, that this was a tannic vintage, with wines that were austere from the outset. Crowd-pleasers they were not, but it was clear they had the potential to age well.

Turning point

The 2006 vintage took place at a transitional moment for Barolo. The much-discussed battle between ‘traditionalists’, who favoured large neutral casks, and ‘modernists’, who preferred shorter macerations followed by ageing in barriques, was beginning to calm down – at least in the sense that the distinction between the two styles was becoming blurred. There were still partisans on both sides, but many producers were becoming more flexible and pragmatic when it came to vinification and ageing.

The young wines had not been easy to taste, but they were less punishing than in some previous vintages, when extraction had been pushed much further, and tannins could overwhelm the palate.Tannin management seems to be the name of the game in 2006, with the top winemakers succeeding in fashioning wines with polish and integrated tannins. Those who were less successful produced overly firm, tannic examples, which in some cases were quite drying. The Riservas were not necessarily superior: although three of the top six wines of this tasting were indeed Riservas, there were also four among the less admired.

2006 is a classic vintage for Barolo. It is less charming than 2004, less fruit-driven than 2007, less intense than 2010, but with rich colours and an appealing and complex sturdiness and structure. Many wines are now mature, in the sense that secondary aromas (wet leaves, bacon, tar) are developing, although many of the best wines still have beguiling red-fruit aromas and a marked floral character. Some do need to be drunk soon, but in this tasting these were in the minority. Most wines will cruise on for many years to come.

Given the limited number of wines poured in this tasting, each had to be assessed on its own merits, and the best examples demonstrated freshness and precision with integrated tannins.