2019 was a great year for Barolo / Barbaresco. I’ve laid down a few dozen bottles in my (little) basement cellar. Just curious how long you would wait before starting to open them?
We drank a few in Italy last year and they were very enjoyable. Depends on the winemaker and house style.
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In my experience, 2019 is a particularly tight year. That doesn’t mean some wines aren’t wide open, but in general there is less enjoyment drinking them young than say the 2016s. I think the “ideal” strategy is to taste a bottle of each wine you’re collecting, if you haven’t already (I’m a fan of at least tasting each wine young, even if it’s not the best time to drink them), and then put the remainder to rest for another ~10 years or so, approaching them ~15 years from the vintage. If you look at past vintage comps, the 2010s are mostly starting to drink really well at age 13-14, while the 2013s (a particularly tight year, maybe a bit like '19) are mostly closed off right now.
This is of course not to say there won’t be exceptions. Depends somewhat on producer style. I’ve found bottles of the G. Rinaldi Brunate & Tre Tine 2019 to be super enjoyable recently, quite open and the tannins there are so silky that the wines are approachable. On the other hand, I won’t come close to opening a bottle of G. Conterno Cerretta again anytime soon.
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Brad, have you tried mature Barolo and Barbaresco?
Like 20 years past the vintage date, give or take depending on vintage and wine?
That (plus still significant decanting time) is where the magic really happens.
You can coax a decent experience out of younger wines with long decants and depending on the wine, and I get it if you don’t want to wait until 2040 to open these. But it will often end up being a waste and a disappointing experience if you get impatient. YMMV.
Some practical suggestions:
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maybe source a couple medium and older bottles and see how you like them at those ages?
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maybe source more older bottles and some Langhe Nebbiolo and Alto Piemonte so you have wines to open and can hold off on your young ones.
I agree with Rob that '19 is a rather structured and tight vintage, and therefore less likely to give a lot of pleasure young. The “early window” on these is going to be shorter than many other vintages, and may already be closed - if it was ever open - for some wines. But if you want to sample some in their youth, I’d get to it pretty quickly. After that, it’s likely going to be a long sleep. What that means in terms of hard numbers is difficult to say. My plan would be to drink almost immediately or leave them alone for 10-15 years (or more, as we come to find out what they need).
I’ll add that so often with these questions, we are asked about Barolo specifically. It may be that you only have Barolo. I tend to think of my Piedmont wines more globally, and other wines from the region, including Barbaresco, Langhe Nebbiolo, and Alto Piemonte, will drink earlier than serious Barolo, and will help give an idea of how the vintage will develop. Also something like Vajra’s Barolo Albe tends to drink earlier. All of this can help you decide when to open the more serious and structured wines.
FWIW, the good news is that both '20 and '21 (but '20 especially) should give us many more wines to enjoy in their early drinking window, if that is something you like. Plus, it will be fun to compare amongst the vintages.
Just wait for the '20s and drink some Barbera in the meantime.
2019 is a structured year. If laying down to cellar, I would treat like 2013. Check in 5-6 years, and know they can go 10-20 years - and potentially longer depending on the particular wine. I like 2019 for healthy red fruit and that vertical structure; I think some plusher producers will do better than usual this vintage with added structure from nature. While being leaner than 2016, I wonder if some 2016s are too fat. I love 2016 though… and 2013… I wonder if 2019 has a shot to be next recent vintage right behind.
Hodl and Arpepe
2029
This is all very helpful. Thank you.
Funny you ask this. I’m already planning to acquire a few mature bottles soon.
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I was going to suggest the same thing.
Also, the regular Produttori Barbaresco from good vintages is great QPR and often stays more open in the years before maturity.
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If you provide a list of producers, you’ll get finer tuned responses. Alternatively, if you use Cellartracker, you can see the community’s drinking windows.
Here’s a great link:
Traditional vs. Modern
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Here are my notes on 14 2019 Barolos:
https://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2024-02-03_AG_LaFesta_Barolo2019/
If there’s an affordable 2019 that you have multiples of, I would give it a try. I found them quite enjoyable. Also, if you want to learn about these wines, you have to try them. The ones from La Morra and Barolo offer some pleasure now. Maybe with beef or lamb.
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That’s awesome.
Thanks for sharing
I also enjoyed the 2019’s that I’ve tasted so far. Sure they are more structured than the 20’s, but still approachable currently (those that I had).
But I do expect a lot of 19’s to start shutting down sooner rather than later. Personally I have a few more lined up that I want to try and plan to do so within the next few months.
Did you decant before drinking?
If i was pressured on time it has happened.
But if I know I want to taste something in advance, I prefer opening the bottles 8-10+ hours before I need them, and then pour a small glass to both get an early impression and to leave a bit more space for air in the bottle. Some feels open early on and then I just recork them, but most really benefits from some air. Then i follow them during the day in the bottle. So i mostly do this during weekends…
This is what I had the best experience with by far. Some will tell you to decant 1877472 hours in advance. There are multiple threads on this on WB 
Oh, I’m sure there are.