Im slightly over 60. I hav 13’s , 16’, 19’s and 21’s. All from Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe Rinaldi. Probably the next vintage i might consider is 2025 but its dawned on me these wines need time and aren’t cheap. Im thinking im done and will simply wait fot the right time to open whatbi have. Anyone else in this same boat. My plan is to wait two years for the 2016 Bartolo Mascarello. Giuseppe Rinaldi tends to take longer. I could be 80 when my wine runs out. I literally only have one bottle of each. These aren’t cheao wines and i haven’t brought more aggressively since the 2010’s
Your choice to make.
It’s influenced by your palate preferences e.g. whether at one extreme you love them on release, or the other that you love the ethereal old wines. If the former, keep on buying. If the latter, that age has passed.
It’s also possible (and arguably sensible) to trade down, to wines that are still solid / sturdy, but may shine in 15-25 years. Find producers (and vintages) that don’t shut down hard, and where the longevity we used to seek is tempered in favour of appraochability.
FWIW I’ve tailed off purchases significantly a few 2010s, a few 2011s, plus plenty of older wines. I have some 2019 Gattinara and some 2016 Langhe nebbiolo, plus one 2015 Barbaresco. I might buy more, but there’s plenty in the cellar, so I don’t need to.
I’m 79. I stopped buying current Barolo and Barbaresco about 10 years ago. I’m optimistically hoping to outlive my wines from the early 2000s. I’m still eagerly backfilling. I’m also looking for Gattinara, Ghemme, Valtellina and open to really good Nebbiolos.
2 Likes
Id consider buying 2013 but the prices are high
I’m gonna stop when I have 15 years left to live.
4 Likes
I thought that was Northern Rhone?
1 Like
At age 60, the SSA actuaries say you’ve got a 50-50 shot at another 21 years.
What’s the youngest you find them enjoyable enough to be worth the tariff?
Of course, that assumes you live 21 more years but not longer, and that your palate preferences don’t change.
I’m 70, should have another 14 years, and like them with a minimum of 20-25 years of age:
2026 + 14 - (20 to 25) = 2015 to 2020
My last Barolo vintage was 2016. My last Bordeaux vintage was 2019.
I am pretty much where you are. I have bought a few 20 and 21 Barbarescos. No Barolo since the 2013s.i have bought 30 or so bottles of 2021 Bordeauxs though.
I don’t mind drinking young Barbarescos.
1 Like
I’m a little older. I bought ‘16 Produttori Crus and will continue to buy base Barolo/Barbaresco and various Langhe Rosso, but I stopped buying Nebbiolo that requires long aging. I like old Nebbiolo. I like young Nebbiolo.
3 Likes
Currently 60. I stopped buying en masse with the 2016 vintage.
It should be pointed out that the Barolo wines of today will age very differently than the wines produced 20 years ago. While 1989 is drinking well, and 1996 just entering the window, vintages like 2008 and 2019 are absolutely delicious already, if still young. The best vintages today will drink well earlier, and probably have shorter lifespans than the best vintages of the past.
So that doesn’t mean I have stopped completely. I have definitely stopped with the high value wines, and with the benefit of tasting for 2 weeks in Piedmont every spring, which allows me to identify stand out wines that won’t break the bank. So I have bought about a case or two per recent vintages, bottlings that exceed expectations, are difficult to find, or those that are just too delicious to pass up, but as a percentage they are a small addition to the cellar.
There is always backfilling as well, you can pretty much buy what you want when you want it these days, easier than buying, cellaring, and hoping!
3 Likes
Useful data, and the palate preferences well worth mentioning, as well as tolerance of/appetite for alcohol.
If we’re still chasing the sturdy cellaring vintages / producers many of us prefer, then the journey to enjoyable maturity is longer. However choosing more accessible vintages (2007 was a good example of this) can be a great option, as the wines often stayed open rather than closing down hard at 5-10 years from vintage. They probably won’t last as long as the vintages we used to chase, but that now becomes a positive. Similarly, as mentioned above, giving up on the sturdy long-termer wineries, and choosing those slightly lighter / more approachable wines from other producers can be equally useful. Maybe the highs aren’t quite as high, but in terms of value for money, the proposition can be very attractive, with some super wines at the £30 mark vs. multiples of that for some of the big names.
1 Like
Those data were calculated for the US population. I don’t know how different they might be for other populations.
My strategy was to shift from new releases to backfilling mature vintages of the same wines I love. That means taking some provenance risk but I’ve had mostly good results.
Purchase quantities now are also much smaller than when I was in the log growth phase because there’s already a pretty good inventory of ready to drink and early maturing wines in the cellar.
1 Like
I’m a little older than you, Mike_Ge. I vowed that 2013 would be the last vintage, since I prefer my nebbiolo with some age.
But somehow I find myself with a fair deal of 2016 in my cellar. A bottle here, a couple there, a few left over that were meant for tastings. And no regrets that I bought a half case of the '16 Produttori Barberesco normale. I bottle a month or so ago was fabulous now with beef stew.
My decision is shaped by the fact that I have enough from the mid-90s through 2006 to sustain me to the point where my taste buds are shot.
Years ago i bought vietti barbaresco. Loved it on rekease but felt it didn’t hold up. I don’t recall the vintage. Does vietti still make a barbaresco even
I’m 56 and have a distinct preference for drinking mature nebbiolo. I wholeheartedly agree with Greg that recent vintages are less surly and earlier approachable than 1996 and sooner. I prefer classically structured nebbiolo at 20+ minimum, with exceptions for warmer more approachable vintages like 11, and 15. Classic vintages like '96 for me are just entering peak drinking. '89 is my current favorite for drinking. On release, I halfheartedly decided '10 was my last vintage, but in my heart I did not believe it. Then '13 was my last vintage to buy in bulk (aided by my daughter’s birth year). Some producers made beguiling 14s and I selectively bought a fair amount. I thought '15 was too warm and round at first, but it firmed up and I ended up liking 15 more than I thought early on and bought a fair amount, but then came '16 where I backed up the truck, then I disliked 17 was nonplussed with 18, then came 19 and lather, rinse repeat. I was done again, but liked the approachability of many '20s. And then came '21. If I were 45 I would back up the truck. I have cut down a lot with my '21s although I adore the vintage. I just have too much. I have not liked what I have tasted from '22 or '23, so for me '21 will be my last vintage for serious nebbiolo. I swear. I’m sure some new vintage will come along and break my will, but my resolve has been getting stronger. The really long agers like Monfortino I stopped with 13, well then I bought 14, but I am done now, I swear. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop, but I am finding joy in new less expensive often younger or rejuvenated classic procurers making better wine that are still affordable and will offer pleasure at Tropospheric prices.
Good luck, there is slippery slope out there.
1 Like
of course I can already picture they hype when 2025 comes out calling it the vintage of the century and a whole new paradigm. If I read the top review sites it will be tough to resist, but then some of the usual players set the same about 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019
1 Like
I believe I’ve read that '25 is quite a short vintage, despite rumors of good quality. Following weak '22-'24 vintages (for different reasons), I can only imagine '25s will be expensive. As someone who is still buying, I’ll be hoping for another run like '19-'21 to provide ample opportunity and, hopefully, keep pricing somewhat in check.
I’m one year younger, but same answer. That decision was a combination of my age and my inventory. If I’d had less B&B already in the cellar at the time, I’d probably have continued buying through maybe the '21 vintage.
with tariffs and normal price appreciation i’ ballpark a giusippe rinaldi north of $500. I just paid $350 for a 2021 and that was at the low end of what I coud find
Vietti currently produces a Barbaresco Roncaglie and a Riserva Rabaja.