I look at it more as @Ian_Sutton mentioned above. I think they generally have 2 windows, one which is primary; very fresh, vibrant, great for pairing, and then they close down after 1-3 years to reemerge with their tertiary window sometimes many years later. The greater the aging potential, the longer the “dumbish” phase. The only other thing I would add is that with higher acidity, the less dumb it can often get. Lots of 2016s will seem to never be dumb, but I would still generally avoid drinking many of the higher end traditionally made 2016s for another 10-15 years, though they may have been amazing with the proper aeration and food in 2020.
2016 Produttori del Barbaresco standard bottling for example you can read plenty of notes saying it is still great now and I do not think it will ever completely shut down. I think the acidity may keep the fruit potent straight through to balance out the tannins until they finally soften (maybe in 2035). But today the 2016 PdB is still not quite what it was in 2020, and I imagine it will continue to decline slightly for several years.
I think this is true for other wines as well, but Nebbiolo might be the grape that highlights it best.
Very over generalized but in “good” vintages I would say consume the first bottle as soon as possible, unless it is already 2 years after release, and then let them sit for a decade more (~15 years post vintage).
Good additional info Roger. The frustrating thing is how much variation there is based on producer, vineyard, and vintage. My solution is to not open the likely highly structured bottles past after the first year or two for quite a while - a decade or more. Then I study comments here and in CT for evidence of openness. Often CT notes for bottles in closed phases read like ‘not very good, weak, lacking depth’ but really they were just too young.
And one other comment about opening bottles from structured vintages soon after release. These can be amazing, but I’ve found the tannins can be intense soon after opening. So I wouldn’t decant or open in advance. Pop the cork and drink straightaway. At first beautiful, usually after an hour (or even less!) tannins can emerge, sometimes quite powerful ones, which block other sensations.
Thank you @R_Frankel and @Joseph_Grassa for the information. Very, very helpful as I continue my Langhe wine journey.
And, FWIW, I agree with you Joseph that I found 2018 PdB classico/normale more interesting than 2017 (at least for now).
2017 a couple of months ago seemed a little simple while the '18 I had last week had a little more complexity and nuance, at least for my palate. I assumed it was because the '18 has all of the fruit that would normally go into the cru Riserva wines, but maybe its just the nature of the vintages.
I would say a bit of both. In general 2018s have been very approachable and it would be hard to imagine that the grapes from the Riserve didn’t make their imprint as well. They also decreased the skin contact to 24 days on the 2018 compared to 30 for both the 2016 and 2017, making the 2018 again a bit more approachable.
My early impression tasting '19s is that they are great, classic wines, but more tannic (at least they feel that way) and less approachable early than '16. I like the lower alcohols with a number of wines clocking in at 14% after seeing many 15% wines in 2016. For the most part I haven’t found the '19s to blow me away in the way '16s did, although the '19 Vietti Ravera was really thrilling. This seems like an awesome vintage if you have the time and capacity to cellar. I heard from 2 producers that they thought AG’s portrayal of the vintage as hot was a bit misleading, with there having been some very hot periods in the summer of 2019, but overall the vintage having been moderate throughout most of the growing season.
It seems to me that 2020 is going to be a really fun vintage based on the few Barolos I tasted at wineries and experience with some of the Langhe Nebbiolo. The wines have incredible fruit but don’t seem overdone / overripe, with good structure and vibrant acidity. Certainly, the most enjoyable glasses of wine I tasted at wineries were the 2020s with the 2019s much less showy.
It sounds like 2021 is going to be very good as well but with some caveats in certain vineyards due to hail or frost damage. Sounds like Brunate was hit hard in 2021, for example, with a lot of fruit lost. But I haven’t actually tasted any 2021 Barolo.
Concur with the 2019 assessment. There were two hot periods at the end of June and the end of July. The rest of the summer season was mild and the Nebbiolo harvest began in the 2nd half of October according to the Consorzio. Sounds classic to me. And I welcome lighter alcohol Barolo.
Had these two 2019’s last night and remembered this post and couldn’t agree more based on this very small sample size. I very much liked both 19’s though and think they will be very good down the line.
Researching a bit more as I start to see more offerings in Canada (specifically, Ontario). Ian D’Agata has some good insights on 2019 generally that are worthy of a share ((https://terroirsense.com/en/p/8738.html)):
The 2019 is an excellent, classic vintage, though it might have been a hair more successful in Barolo than Barbaresco. The 2019 Barbaresco wines are less exuberant in fruitiness than the 2020s, for example, marked by their noteworthy acidity levels that in the best wines is harmonious and supportive of a long and graceful evolution in bottle. I found many of the 2019 Barbarescos to carry a slightly herbal note that is not usually as apparent in Nebbiolo wines. The growing season was characterized by long daytime heat and sunlight (much more so than in 2018), so the wines are more massive, the caveta being that poor 2019 wines can lack a little freshness. But most people made great wines in this vintage, with some telling me they believed they made their best wines ever in 2019. When I met with Bruna Giacosa at her winery back in March, she told me she finds her 2019 to be a classic year and she loves it; while she finds the Barbarescos to be still very young and a touch hard such that they do not spark the same sate of emotional involvement of other famous vintages, she also pointed out that the wines were finally beginning to open by early 2023 and showing all their undeniable potential for greatness. In fact, Giacosa felt her 2019 wines were so good that she didn’t feel compelled to making a Riserva, given all her vats were more or less on the same level (and to her immense credit, she wasn’t about to go labeling everything with her famous red Riserva label). “Honestly, I would have had trouble picking which lot to label as a Riserva ” she smiled.
Margherita Otto, interesting project. Our company now handles these wines. I know Alan a little, very nice guy. The 2019 was the first vintage I tasted. I really wanted to embrace the wine more. Don’t get me wrong the 2019 is very good. I think the pricing is a little aggressive though. I do think these wines have a lot of upside in future vintages.
I thought the 2019 Margherita Otto is good, but I was more impressed by the 2020 when tasting in the cellar. The 2020/2021 Langhe are also really good, to the extent that’s a read on what is to come. The fruit on the 2020 Barolo really popped, partially or perhaps entirely because of the vintage, whereas the fruit was somewhat subdued on the 2019. I’ll have to taste a full bottle of the '19. I think it’s been difficult to get a firm read on the wines because there was a lot of change in the winemaking facilities and vineyard mix from 2015-2019, but things should be stable from here on. For example, the 2016 which on release at least was reductive and super dense - promising, but very different than the other vintages or what we’ll see going forward.
I picked up a 2019 Vajra Albe and a 2019 Vietti Castiglione today. I’m included to leave the Vietti alone for a few years, but suspect that I’ll open the Vajra this spring for science (and then maybe buy more of it). Very much looking forward to the next couple of years of releases and building up a moderate Barolo collection for the future!
Marco,
How long do you normally age these? I’ve been inclined to buy earlier vintages because I am too inpatient to leave them alone for 10+ years. What’s your approach? I’m still new to Barolo, so learning from this community.
I opened the Albe about 2 weeks ago and man it was pretty dam tight for 2 days, it was better on day 3 but the best glass was on day 5 but even then it wasn’t truly open the fruit never really came to the forefront. It seems other may have had a better experience but for now it’s put away to revisit in a couple yrs.
A few I have enjoyed (and purchased a few of!) in no particular order.
2019 Massolino Barolo Serralunga
2019 Burzi Barolo Normale and Capalot
2019 Massolino Barolo Parafada
2019 Massolino Barolo Margheria
2019 Diego Morra Barolo San Lorenzo di Verduno
2019 G.D. Vajra Albe
I’m still relatively new to building my cellar, but with limited exception, I’ll probably hold many of them to the 7-10+ year mark before really diving in. I enjoyed one of the 2019 Cordero because of how shocked I was with seeing CT reviews discuss its openness and because it is still readily available in my market (Canada). So where I can readily replace and/or it makes sense to do so (Vajra Albe will be another likely contender as it usually is more approachable early and available), I’ll try them earlier.
Having a lot of 2013 and 2016 i dont plan to pick up a lot of these. As others have said it seems to be a vintage characterised by a firm structure which I already have enough off. With time I’ve actually come to like the not so famous vintages more and more. I didn’t really like 2017, but 2018 seems really good for my taste. Wines are a little lighter and dangerously drinkable.
Also think I will end up with more 2020s for the same reason.
