For producers of Barolo and Barbaresco, the decade of the 2010s may go down in history as the greatest ever.
Yes, there were problems with drought and excessive heat in some years, but most vintners agree that in this decade there were four vintages that could be rated as excellent to outstanding: 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019.
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Now that the 2019 Barolos have been released, we can look back and see exactly how distinctive this decade was for producers. With that in mind, Wine-Searcher asked some Barolo and Barbaresco vintners for their thoughts on these four vintages. How would they describe these specific years? How would they rate them? Were there other years they believe were underrated?
Barolo
Cristina Oddero – Poderi Oddero (La Morra)
2010 is a year we are going to remember for a long time and talk about in future years for the perfection of the climatic conditions during Spring and Summer months, providing concentrated yet elegant fruit. The 2010 Barolos are very long lasting and will offer emotions and surprises over the years.
2013 is a classic vintage giving life to Barolo wines that were initially austere with deep and long tannins that are now evolving smoothly. Very long-lasting Barolos that I suggest tasting again and again to find out the evolution of the quality of its perfumes and palate expressions.
2016 is the perfect vintage to me. It is a full, bright and balanced vintage with Barolo wines that are juicy and rich, almost joyful I would say. Shining wines that will age stunningly well.
The 2019 vintage to me is a "classic" one, reminding me a little of 2013. The 2019 vintage gave life to long lasting, old-school wines, persistent and structured Barolos. The wines are compact on the palate and are showing a very interesting and complex evolution in the bottle, with a soft and enveloping tannic texture.
A vintage that was particularly underrated was 2018, which was a problematic and challenging one indeed, but it gave life to some very curious and interesting wines. I adore our Barolo Classico for its freshness, purity and enjoyability. It sings in the glass.
Franco Massolino (Serralunga d'Alba)
They are all vintages with medium-late ripeness time, in our opinion they share a great aging potential and, generally, a very "traditional" expression also if each of them also has its own specific personality.
Vintage 2010: certainly among the best vintages produced recently in terms of concentration and intensity. Beautiful deep colors, dense tannic structure and quite silky, discreetly rounded and really lots of pulp! Generally very interesting wines even when young.
Vintage 2013: wines that have one of their most interesting characteristics in their outstanding aging potential. Great structure, robust tannins and beautiful acidity. A decidedly classic, traditional expression that makes this vintage extraordinary for future development. When young these wines were more closed than in 2010.
Vintage 2019: another vintage with rather late harvest and which produced wines similar to 2013 with great expressive purity and tannic texture of notable depth. Slightly more elegant wines when young compared to 2013 but with the same longevity. A year in which the best exposed vineyards made the difference
Vintage 2016. The 2016 vintage gave us practically perfect climatic conditions, giving us complete and complex wines. Rich wines from every point of view that often represent the "ideal model" that the producers wants to achieve. The color, aroma, complexity and richness of this vintage truly represent something extraordinary!
Which years in our opinion can be comparable? I would say that 2001, 2008 and 2004 could be placed side by side to these four.
Stefano Gagliardo, Gianni Gagliardo (La Morra)
We could play a game: Barolo, '10, '13, '16, '19 … find the intruder! Let’s go in order. 2010 was hyper celebrated, great in some parts of the world, very good in Barolo. It is one of those vintages that is difficult to criticize, because everything in the wines is in the right place. Having said this however, I think that to capture the heart and brain, something more is needed, which I describe with the word "character".
2013: here is the pulp, the heat, the crunchy fruit. For some this may be the perfect description for a contemporary "grand vin". In my opinion it was instead with slightly easier wines, very suitable for bringing new members into the Barolo club because they are soft and velvety. In any case, the character is there.
The 2016 then expresses complexity and completeness and speaks loudly. In my opinion today these wines are still young. Here there is something more than character, there is personality.
Then the 2019, balanced and tense. The wines are immediately enjoyable although I would be willing to bet that they will live for a very long time.
In my opinion the intruder is the 2016 - which is also my favorite.
Barbaresco
Daniela Rocca, Albino Rocca (Barbaresco)
We can consider those four vintages all classics with a normal or late harvest.
I recently did a tasting showing our Ronchi '11, '13, '16, '17, '18, '19 and the '13, '16 and '19 were the favorite ones. Probably 2010 in Barbaresco did not get the same quality as Barolo; at least this is my opinion. Those vintages are all suitable for aging and they are showing the elegance and the pureness of Nebbiolo.
I always liked the 2014 vintage especially in Barbaresco where we made very good wines. The weather was more favorable in Barbaresco in 2014.
Enrico Dellapiana, Rizzi (Treiso)
2016-2019-2013-2010. This is my personal line up.
My preference goes to 2016, an amazing vintage, everything combined to have this perfect vintage (probably the best of the decade).
2019 I like for the freshness, herbal and spice notes. The wines are in great evolution. 2013 what amazing grapes… I still remember the photos that I made in the vineyard before the picking…. such great grapes… it was impossible to not make amazing wines. 2010, the richness and the power. These are wines with a slow evolution, darker and deeper.
In general, the four vintages could be considered typical Nebbiolo vintages that were colder and offered more freshness in respect to other vintages. This permitted us to have wines with good acidity, important tannic structure, good aging potential.
Annalisa Nada, Ada Nada (Treiso)
We can say that they are children with different characteristics. 2010 was a surprise after a late harvest; there was good fullness and an excellent polyphenolic balance. 2013 brought us back to the balance of other years, thanks to the harvest at the end of October.
2016 is a "mama's boy", beautiful and precise thanks to an optimal climate, while 2019 gave full and complete Barbarescos thanks to the summer heat that was not excessive.
2014 and 2012 deserve a mention; they are leaner, but prone to aging. Also 2017, which had as its only flaw the fact that it arrived after 2016.
Aldo Vacca, Produttori del Barbaresco (Barbaresco)
2010 vintage: It is a beautiful vintage, although medium bodied, but in Barbaresco we had to pick earlier than we wished to, too close to the last rainy day and the result was a slightly diluted vintage. Hence the decision not to release single vineyards in order to give more weight and complexity to a Barbaresco that would have been too light otherwise.
2013: My favorite of the bunch, medium body but great “explosivity … powerful and complex, a beauty that is really starting to shine right now.
2016: This is the"“vintage of the century", where everything was perfect from beginning to the end. A large crop of exceptional quality, full body, powerful structure, loaded with sweet Nebbiolo fruit. It is an easy one easy to understand and enjoy not just for Nebbiolo aficionado, but also if you have been drinking Merlot all of your life.
2019: Also very interesting somehow classic and similar to 2013 – at least we hope.
In Barbaresco the vintage that seemed to have gone under the radar is the 2017, perhaps because it came after the spectacular 2016. 2017 in Barbaresco is in line with 2013 and 2019, medium bodied yet powerful, spicy tones prevailing on the fruity ones, very balanced and long on the finish. It is a more "cerebral" vintage that true Nebbiolo lovers should not miss.
Barolo and Barbaresco
Federica Boffa, Pio Cesare (Alba)
2016: slightly more acidity, closed tannins at the beginning but rich of complexity and structure.
2013: little bit more austere, with however a nice finesse in the finish.
2010: cooler vintage, with more water in the soil, so more minerality, more dark fruits, in a way more "accessible" at the beginning and approachable in the youth, right now is one of my favorite vintage to drink and to use as an example of the evolution of Nebbiolo after more than 10 years.
I would include as well 2012 vintage, a very underrated vintage but one of my favorite. Super structured Barolo and Barbaresco, with very promising character to age very long, with slightly less alcohol in comparison to the last few years. Not very abundant in quantity but excellent in quality and expression of the tannins.
Alberto Cordero di Montezemolo (La Morra)
I have a personal opinion about vintages in general. We don’t distinguish good and bad vintages anymore. This is due to the global weather effects that allowed us to better ripen the Nebbiolo, but most important is the fact that now we have accumulated an enormous experience that allowed us to take the right decisions on any occasion and to find a way to make good wines year after year. The big difference is also related to the budget we have now compared to 20-30 years ago.
Those vintages you mentioned are so special because everybody did a good job. But the quality of the producer is more evident in more challenging vintages in which the vintners have been able to transform a weakness into a peculiarity and/or a unique expression of the appellation. So, why we should consider it a "lower quality vintage"? It's just question about the style of the vintage.
