What's your take on 2012 in Barolo and Barbaresco?

I’ve been tasting in the region last week and this week and yet I’m still not sure what to make of the 2012 vintage. I’ve really liked the wines, but I don’t get the feeling they’re garnering a lot of enthusiasm.

It was a cooler vintage overall than 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, and few people are making riservas in 2012 (let alone the more problematic 2014). The winemakers seem happier about 2013 and 2015, on the whole – particularly 2015, which many say had nearly perfect growing conditions. (So far, 2016 looks terrific, too – a warm summer, a cooling rain last week that revived dry vines and retarded maturation that was moving a little too quickly.)

By contrast, people have used the term “elegant” for 2012. Is that damning with faint praise?

In fact, “elegant” is the word I kept coming back to when tasting. I thought the 2012s at Cogno, Vajra, Oddero, Fratelli Alessandria and Burlotto were fabulous – more than just medium bodied, mid-term wines, which the term elegant might imply.

The most striking thing to me in the 2012s is the perfumed noses.

(Note: The producers above are all on the western side of the zone – La Morra, Verduno or Novello (though Novello is technically in Barolo and Cogno is close to Monforte. Is that a factor?)

I’m sipping a 2012 Schiavenza Prapo now that is quite powerful – denser and more tannic than those of the producers above, really showing its Serralunga origins. But it, too, gave fabulous perfumes as soon as I pulled the cork. Even some pleasing mature nebbiolo scents at first, though it tightened up and became fresher.

My puzzlement is that, while producers seem quite happy with their '12s, they don’t seem to be gushing about them. And I’m having a hard time assessing the '12s relatively because I haven’t been able to taste '11, '12 and '13 of the same wine against each other except in the case of a couple of pairs, and I’ve been offered very few '11s and '13s. (I have no reason to doubt the quality of '13 based on the line-ups at Germano (Serralunga) and Rizzi (Treiso), which were very strong. And as I said in Howard Davis’s thread on his visit, the less red seem very strong in 2013.)

I’m curious to know what other people who’ve tasted the '12s think.

And is there a difference between Barolo and Barbaresco? Gabriele Cortese at Cortese in Barbaresco seemed to think it was better in Barolo, which he said does better in off vintages.
And, as a corrolary, what’s your take on the relative merits of 2011, 2012 and 2013, if you’ve tasted the wines? (Barolo 2013s are only just bottled or are still in barrel.)

Footnote: I noticed that there are a lot of 2009s left in the stores in Alba, though few 2010s. I though there was enough positive press initially about the 09s that they would be gone. Guess not. Lots of '11s are on the shelves, too, though that’s less surprising.

In a cool, wet year like 2012 my thought is to look for warmer sites with sandy soils if possible. I have some birth year bottle shopping to do, and so far have only added some Cannubi’s, and will look at Vigna Rionda and Brunate in Barolo, maybe some others is Serralunga, etc.

Why are you bringing the question up again? It’s already been definitively answered:"Down goes 2012 Barolo! Down goes 2012 Barolo!" - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

John,

I spent 17 days in May tasting through the 12s and I was underwhelmed. While several producers made pretty wines, e.g., Bartolo Mascarello, Burlotto, Brovia and G Rinaldi, many more made wines where the fruit was subdued and often overwhelmed by herbal and medicinal notes that dominated both the nose and palate. In contrast to your experience, I thought Vajra, a producer I really like, underperformed. We only tasted a few Barbarescos, so I don’t have a strong opinion about the quality there. My advice, try before you buy 2012s.

Tom Maskell

Tom: Did you try Vajra’s 2012 Ravera?

Ha! Completely forgot about Greg’s report and that thread.* i guess that explains why I had a negative impression of the vintage, though he refers to positive press for 2012. I was thinking my vague negative feeling was only because of a passing remark of David Zylberberg’s in his posting on his visit to the region six weeks or so ago. I bet David was alluding to Greg’s view.

I guess this is a case where not doing my homework had a positive side-effect: I came with an open mind. By contrast, I’ve been less excited by the 2011s than many people.

I have to say that I really disagree with Greg. He tasted more wines, but he didn’t taste all the wines I did at the producers we both visited, and he didn’t taste at some of the producers I did. I also wonder if the wines are showing better now than they did six or eight months ago. All could help explain why our takes are so different. I’ve tasted many times with Greg and have enormous respect for his palette in general and his knowledge of Barolo in particular.

No winemaker I’ve spoken to is apologetic about 2012. Most have said they’re quite pleased with the wines, and they offered the word “elegant” before I did. The only place where I wasn’t taken with the '12s was at Brezza, where Greg rather liked them. Perhaps they were grumpy that day, or perhaps I was.

The other thing I’d add is that I’ve liked the normale/base/classico bottlings of a lot of producers (Oddero and Burlotto come to mind, particularly). That’s often a good measure of the quality of the vintage.

• That thread hardly settled the issue definitively since almost no one in that thread had tasted any 2012s!

Tom - Interesting that you didn’t like the Vajras. I’m wondering now about when various producers bottled.

Hi, John, thanks for posting this.

This spring, as usual, I spent 3 months in Italia, 7+ of those weeks were in Langhe - I tasted pretty much everyday, I covered a lot of ground. While I was there I learned something, and it took Greg’s post/declaration for me to realize just what it was I’d learned, and how much it mean, to me. Vintage discussions are largely a fool’s game. It’s about the producer first, the vintage, a distant second. 2002 in Langhe was declared a disaster by many/most, and yet there’s the Monfortino. (and yes I realize the bulk of the grapes were sold for rosé, etc.)

The most committed growers, or ‘the best’ if that’s what works for some people, produce solid wines in every vintage. And maybe it’s a part of my learning curve, but I want these types of wines every single year. I want to taste what nature gave and what the winegrower did to adapt to the change/challenges. I’m not in search of the best, I’m in search of the something I know to be the most honest. And that’s why I spend so much time there, and why I always go at the low-time of the year when I can visit these people - who have become friends over the past decade + at their homes, their family farms. We’ve come to know each other, and we enjoy one another’s company, if not, my request(s) for an appointment would be declined. I was on the phone with several of them this morning, something I do regularly.

If anything, I’m less apt to buy the ‘vintage of the century’ as I know I won’t be here to enjoy them when they’re at peak, so I back-fill, instead.

I go to VinItaly every year, but that’s not a place to taste wine, the conditions are poor in that regard. Instead I like to visit the cantina, to taste when conditions are far more optimal, etc.

That said, I disagreed with Greg’s assessment (and I can’t recall it off hand except for that it wasn’t very positive, or maybe that it wasn’t very negative, which is my point, I think. And in my opinion, it missed the point in its need to reduce it down to yet another number, in this case, a vintage. Something that can’t be reduced to points, though some try.

I’ve found a lot of wonderful wines in the vintage, about an equal amount in the good/very good category, and many more in the average category. And if I break it down, the curve looks the same in pretty much all of the vintages, i.e. the Burlottos, Peccheninos, Conternos, Brovias, Cavallottos, Odderos, Mascarellos, Rinaldis, etc. of the world, did fine work, the Brezzas, etc., less fine. Were there some surprises, yes, but it seemed to me to be an equal amount to the upside as well as the downside, which again I find true in nearly every vintage. So again, I say the vintage game is just a waste of time, for me. I’d rather taste and know, than take someone elses’s headline as gospel. In the end, I didn’t even read Greg’s piece.

In closing, I found wonderful 12s from both Barolo and Barbaresco; tasted many 11s and 13s at the same time, in addition to older vintages that were sampled for comparison, for learning. That said, the press is going to go bonkers, again, re: 13 and 15, if only because there will be no cheerleading for 14. To choose an area or a vintage over a producer, is a game I just can’t play (in no way is this mean as disrespect to you, my feelings are quite the opposite, actually.)

Thank you for the thread, and the thoughtful review(s).

Fine for you, but not everybody can spend a week in Italy every year, let alone 3 months.

I am far from qualified to give you an answer, but I’d like to just throw in my 2cents for one point.

I have tried a few bottles of the 2012 Produttori del Barbaresco, and there are two things I have come away with. The nose is extremely perfumed and there is far more structure than I expected. Compared to the 2011, 2012 doesn’t seem like a vintage that is made for early drinking.

This of course is something I am determining from a single producer, so probably not worth putting much weight on.

Yes, and thank you for stating the obvious.

Let me try and use your reply (which seemed to completely miss my point) to make my point.

Everybody (that’s serious about this hobby) can ignore someone else’s headlines, and just focus on the producers they enjoy, thereby trusting the people they know, and not the ones they don’t - the ones held out to be ‘the voice’. And so then they can have the wine as it’s intended, and appreciate the vintage differences. Unless of course, they’re only after ‘the best’.

I’m reminded of the person that complained about their $5 bottle of Riesling. They didn’t care for it, they said, no, not at all. I said, well that’s when wine is expensive, when it was money down the drain (ie. don’t buy two $5 bottles, buy one that’s $10). I then asked them if they finished it. They said they did. I then asked if they’d buy it again, they said, yeah, probably. They were never going to change their ways, even if it meant a lamentable outcome. It was safe. Even if it was the wrong choice.

Since we’re referring to Greg dal Piaz’s article on the 2012s posted in May, I guess we should have a direct link.

A few excerpts will give you a sense of how negative he was:

“[T]hey generally do not inspire except … within the context of the vintage.”

“Simply put many wines lack fruit and have tannins that are hard, bitter, or aggressive. Yes they can be viewed as elegant, but where is the joy in these wines?”

“In addition to the lack of complexity many wines exhibit, and the not quite ripe tannins that seem pervasive, many wines also drop off on the back end with insufficient fruit to cover their structure. … What I see too often with 2012s are wines that have the tannins to age but the fruit for more immediate enjoyment. I expect we’ll see lots of tannic 2012s in a decade that offer little pleasure to the consumer.”

FYI, I didn’t find the '12s excessively tannic, even though tasting young nebbiolo-based wines tends to dry out your mouth so it’s easy to find the top wines tannic since they are invariably served last. And I did find a lot of joy in the finesse and aromas of many of these wines.

Rereading the article, I see that Greg is a big fan of the 2011s. That’s interesting, because from my somewhat limited experience, I’m less of a fan of them. And the winemakers don’t seem to gush about them at this stage. I get the feeling they prefer the 2010s and 2015s.

I’am sipping Burlotto Monvigliero 2012 Right now,and i think I’ts delicious wine,very elegant and drinking nicely now.But i buy Monvigliero every year.As others said i’ts often the producer that matters.

"And the winemakers don’t seem to gush about them at this stage. I get the feeling they prefer the 2010s and 2015s.

I thought 2013 was supposed to be the next monster vintage for Barolo.

I find the 2012s lovely with excellent perfume and nice elegance. I’m a buyer.

I have not tasted any 2012 Piedmont wines so I ask these as pure questions:

1. Could the difference between your views and Greg’s be based on the fact that he tasted more widely and you tasted at some favorites, or is that not the case.

2. Is 2012 sort of like a 2000 or 2007 in Burgundy?

3. Sometimes Burgundies seem to put on weight a year or two after the vintage - I found this for example in 1980, 2000, 2001 and 2007. Does this happen in the Piedmont and could the wines be better now than when Greg tasted them.

So far 12s I’ve tried are mixed. Ones that I’ve found particularly enjoyable thus far - Vietti’s lineup, Burlotto Monvigliero, Bartolo Mascarello, Vajra Bricco delle Viole.

Have had a handful of 11s and so far I think its been a really open vintage for drinking now. Recently had G Mascarello Monprivato, Vietti Rocche, Burlotto Monvigliero, all really open for business.

My take is that 2012 is that it is a moderate, lesser vintage, not overall as good as 2011, let alone 2013 or 2010. This is not to say that the top houses and Crus from 2012 are rubbish. They’re not. 2012 is typically a lighter bodied, more immediately accessible, elegant vintage you’ll be able to drink earlier, while you wait for your 2010s and 2013s (and even 2011s) to come around. I agree with Tim that Barolo and Barbaresco is today largely about producers and sites. Typically the best producers and sites produce the best wines every vintage (save something like 2014 or 2002, which is a wash out, most places).

This was my thought tasting through the Vietti 2012 Barolo Crus, having last year tasted through the same lineup of 2011s. The '12s were all good wines, worth buying, but, for me, clearly behind the '11s, overall as a set.

So I have and will buy the ‘better’ '12s with no worries. I can understand that others will ignore the '12s and wait for the '13s either to buy the ‘best’ wines from a top vintage and/or the ‘lesser’ wines from a better vintage (hoping that a top vintage will ‘raise all boats’).

I agree. Great summary

The 2012 Vajra Ravera got a glowing review from AG. To anyone who has had the wine, do you agree or disagree?