tasting / laying down / 2018 Barolo
2018 BAROLO: SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL WAS POSSIBLE
While it may not be a great vintage—and while it is certainly a step down from its high-performing predecessor—some attractive, drinkable wines in a lighter, “Pinot-like” style were made in Barolo in 2018, says Andrew Jefford, as he introduces a tasting shared with Bruno Besa and Michael Palij MW
T
o what extent might winter weather underpin vine performance (and, with it, harvest quality) over the succeeding summer? The topic is underresearched and the subject of little press comment—for now. We may begin to pay it more attention, though, as climate change sinks its fangs into viticulture’s jugular. A hot summer, once regarded as an unqualified blessing, will take on sinister allure if subsoils have not been adequately loaded with moisture during winter and spring. One reason for the success of the French vintages of 2018, 2019, and 2020, even though each broke records for heat, was the fact that the summer sun beat down on well-stocked subsoils. Winter frost and snow are precious, too. Climate- change disruption of the polar vortex makes mid- or late-spring cold snaps increasingly likely. Just how damaging they are will largely depend on winter’s rigor. A warm January and February will have unlocked buds prematurely— to catastrophic effect. After the fierce “Luciferian” heat
and early harvest of 2017, what did Barolo’s Nebbiolo vines need most over winter? Ample rain and extended cold in which to lie dormant, rest, and recover. What did they get? Exactly that. January saw “Snowmageddon” in the nearby Alps, with nearly 8ft (2.4m) of snow falling in 48 hours over the weekend of January 6–7 in Bonneval- sur-Arc close to the Italian border. In February, temperatures plunged to 18°F (-8°C) in the Langhe, with more snow toward the end of the month. And the celestial taps were hammered open, too; every month from January to May saw higher-than-average
202 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023
precipitation in Barolo. By May, indeed, the moisture was proving problematic; rain fell on 24 days in that month, and the sticky Barolo marls rendered vineyards inaccessible just when vine growth and disease pressure was at its worst. If this pattern had continued into June, the vintage might have been catastrophic—but it didn’t, and it wasn’t. Summer barged into the Langhe in June, drying the vineyards and firming the marls; July and August, too, were very hot, though the after-effect of all that spring rain was a tropical tinge to the heat. There was some local hail damage in August, with Serralunga suffering worst. The end of the season cooled, with the return of the rain in September inciting some growers to pick early; most, though, hung on for a “proper” October harvest. Not a faultless script, then, but
certainly a workable one: a full, unabbreviated season; adequate summer heat; unstressed vines. Perhaps there was a bit too much water about, for once; disease pressures
AFTER THE FIERCE, HEAT AND EARLY HARVEST OF 2017, WHAT DID BAROLO’S VINES NEED MOST OVER WINTER? AMPLE RAIN AND EXTENDED COLD IN WHICH TO REST AND RECOVER. WHAT DID THEY GET? EXACTLY THAT
THE HARVEST ASKED FOR SORTING AND A DELICATE TOUCH IN WINEMAKING. NAVIGATE ALL OF THAT, THOUGH, AND SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL COULD BE MADE IN 2018
were intermittently acute; vegetation and crop-load needed a careful eye; there were several moments of difficult decision-making for growers; and the harvest asked for some sorting, with a thoughtful approach and a delicate touch in winemaking. Navigate all of that, though, and something beautiful could be made in Barolo in 2018.
Generous in spirit It’s clearly not a great Barolo vintage; the growers told us that. Many of them opted not to make the single-vineyard cuvées they might do after truly cellar-seeking years; and more generic Barolo cuvées were made than in recent years, because different commune lots were considered best bundled. When we tasted the 2017 vintage, 33 wines in our tasting crossed the 90-point bar, and we found 19 wines meriting a score of 92 points or more (out of 52 wines scrutinized); for 2018, those figures are 25 and 11 respectively (out of 51 wines)—a clear step down. Readers are advised to pay more attention than usual to the lower order, where there were sometimes
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