2011 Barolo: The Here and Now

The 2011 Barolos have turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. After the epic, cellar worthy 2010s, the 2011s will give readers plenty of choices for delicious near and medium-term drinking.

Overall, the 2011s confirm my impressions from multiple prior tastings. The wines are open, resonant and expressive, with contours that are softer than is the norm in young Barolo. I expect most wines will offer broad drinking windows. One of my concerns with the 2011s was a possible loss of site-specific signatures. While that is the case with some wines, happily at the top addresses the wines are quite representative of their origins.

Striking fall colors in Serralunga

From what I have heard so far, the market for 2011 Barolo is very quiet right now, probably the result of a near-compulsive obsession with 2010 Brunello di Montalcino and long-time buyers feeling a bit tapped out after fighting for the 2010 Barolos. That should give savvy consumers a good window of opportunity to pick up the best 2011 Barolos before anyone notices. Readers who were locked out of some 2010s or who had to deal with severely cut allocations (that includes me) should have far fewer issues securing the 2011s in quantity. That’s not such a bad thing for a vintage that offers plenty of early accessibility, especially next to 2006 and 2010, the most structured vintages of the last decade. Best of all, American buyers have the added plus of a much stronger dollar than was the case last year.

For more on the growing season and weather conditions, readers should check out my article on the 2011s from barrel, published in September 2014.

View all 2011 Barolos (Sorted by score)

The mythical slopes of Vigna Rionda, Serralunga

Piedmont is Hot, Hot, Hot