Rating New Barolos: Friendly and Rich 2017s Make An Impression

Winemakers in Barolo are just as surprised as I am about the quality of their nebbiolos from the 2017 vintage, considering the high temperatures and drought conditions for most of the summer in the Langhe and other parts of Italy. Yet, most of the almost 360 Barolos from the vintage I rated showed wonderful brightness and freshness as well as rich palates and ripe tannins. Some were even refined and vertical on the palate.

So far this year we have rated almost 470 Barolos, including late-release vintages such as 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, as well as the great trilogy of 2015, 2016 and 2017. The 2017s drink surprisingly well.

“We have been very surprised with our tastings of 2017,” said Federica Boffa, head of Pio Cesare. They made some excellent 2017s, particularly a one-time bottling from the commune of Serralunga d’Alba to celebrate the 140th anniversary of their winery. “When we tasted the wines, we never thought that it came from a hot vintage. It was not like 2003, which has cooked fruit,” Boffa said. “You get the real nebbiolo character with finesse and elegance.”

“It was surprising because the place where we are in the southern part of Piemonte is not far from the sea, so we got this humidity from the sea so it was hot but not dry,” said Pietro Ratti, the head of the Renato Ratti winery, adding that the clay soils of his vineyards held humidity helped the vines grow and remain fresh.

He also said that they were left with more leaves on the canopy of the vines and more grass in the vineyards to maintain moisture. “You find the wines fresh,” he said. “You don’t find them overripe or flat. … It’s an incredible situation when you have freshness in a warm vintage.”

Lorenzo Scavino of Azelia, who made some stunning 2017 Barolos, attributes their success to old vines. Many of his top vineyard sites have vines that are more than a half a century old.

“We didn’t have rain for about 50 days in a row, which is a lot, and we didn’t have a problem because we have older vines,” he said. “They have deeper roots and go down for five or six meters in the soil. And we could see from neighbors that the younger vines were really suffering. Especially in August, I remember we had 10 or 12 days when temperatures were around 40 degrees centigrade and young vines had leaves that turned brown. That’s why when you taste, our wines have freshness. If you taste these wines blind, you would never think that they are from a vintage like 2017. It’s always amazing. And they are so approachable, with sweeter tannins.”

Luca Currado, the winemaker at Vietti, said that some thunderstorms brought respite to certain areas. “End of July we had two or three days of rain that happened at the perfect time. The vines never suffered the drought really, compared to other parts of Italy,” he said. “Every 15 days or three weeks we had a little bit of rain.”

He also pointed out that vineyards with higher elevations and less direct exposure to the sun grew better grapes with slightly fresher acidity in sunny 2017. “Some of the great Grand Crus are suffering in a year like 2017,” he said. “The wines from these vineyards [at higher elevations] are slightly fresher… Global warming is slightly changing the cards.”

This is exactly what I found in my tastings over the last month, and it now puts 2017 as the third outstanding vintage in a row for Barolo. I don’t think there has ever been a trilogy of vintages for the Langhe like this before. Sure, 1988, 1989 and 1990 were excellent years, but I don’t think the 1988 was that great compared with 2015, 2016 and 2017. It’s the same with 1996, 1997 and 1998. The new trilogy made much better crafted and transparent wines.

“We have been really lucky,” said Currado. “We have to go back 1999, 2000 and 2001 [to compare.] But we have never had the quality like these three years in a row. These are three vintages that our customers love so much.”

I believe that the 2017 Barolos will close down soon because they have plenty of tannins and acidity for the future. They will need to age four or five years in bottle before opening again. So don’t be worried about their friendly character at such an early stage – enjoy them. I find the 2015s and 2016s also enjoyable, although 2015 Barolos are riper and easier to understand and enjoy than the 2016s.

In the last decade, all the vintages, including 2010, are open and very drinkable now, except for 2013. Prior to that you can drink and hold just about everything. But there’s something very alluring about the 2017 Barolos now.

“For me, at my age, I buy more wines for my kids,” Currado concluded. “But I love 2017 for that fact that I can love and enjoy right now. Normally for Vietti, we are known for making wines for long aging. So our wines are never so opulent and open like this year.”

– James Suckling, Chairman/Editor