In this video Pio Boffa, owner of Pio Cesare, explains the 2010 vintage in Barolo. Pio describes it as "a typical great vintage for nebbiolo." Climatically, the vintage was moderate in the sense that there were no excesses during the growing season – except for a cold week at the end of July, which slightly delayed maturation. The rest of the summer remained warm, and a few sunny days in October allowed the grapes to reach perfect maturation.
For Pio, the wine turned out "surprisingly good," as it wasn't until January 2014 that he saw a spectacular change in the wine’s quality. It is a wine that, for him, is characterized by its floral qualities, but that also has an extraordinary purity of fruit characteristic to nebbiolo. As Pio summarizes the vintage, "It is the purity of nebbiolo with a hint of warmness that gives it a certain roundness." The 2010 Barolos are also surprisingly approachable; they are wines that, even if they are not drinkable, are much more open than usual due to the optimal ripeness achieved as a result of the prolonged maturation process.
The 2010 is a great vintage – not the greatest of all time, but an outstanding one. Watch the video and see the owner of one of Barolo’s historical properties give his views on the vintage.
This video was first posted August 11, 2014
-JGAL
