Barbaresco: Worlds Apart
BY ANTONIO GALLONI |
I found much to admire in the 2014 and 2013 Barbarescos I tasted during my most recent visit to the region this past August. The best 2014s and 2013s are exciting, thrilling wines that capture all the qualities that make Nebbiolo such a compelling grape. But far too often, the gap between the top estates and the rest is simply too wide for a region with the potential to make truly world-class wines.
2014 Barbaresco: An October Surprise
Two thousand fourteen will go down as one of the most unusual vintages in Piedmont and Italy. I spent a month in Piedmont during the early part of the summer. Most afternoons were punctuated by the sound of hail cannons in nearby Barbaresco being used to ward off hail. At the time, growers feared a repeat of 2002. On the afternoon of July 23 I was caught in a torrential downpour of near Biblical proportions at Ca’ del Baio that seemed to sum up the year up until then. Quite miraculously, the weather improved dramatically towards the end of the season. By then, the Dolcetto and Barbera had been too adversely affected to recover. But Nebbiolo, which ripens later, was able take advantage of every last ray of sunshine and the dry weather that carried through to the harvest.
Most growers I spoke with define 2014 as a year with an exceptionally long growing season that was created by an early flowering and late harvest. The last phase of ripening was marked by strong diurnal swings, which Nebbiolo loves for the development of color, aromatics and perfume. But 2014 was far from a cakewalk. Challenges earlier on in the season required constant intervention and more spraying against disease than normal. I have never seen a vintage in which nearly every vineyard was afflicted by peronospera (downy mildew). The only variable was the degree of peronospera, but it was everywhere. Many growers I visited also spoke of smaller berries within the clusters. Yields were down by around 30% across the board (in some cases more), but that may have been a blessing in disguise, as the vines ultimately carried a crop level they could ripen.
I found much to admire in the 2014 and 2013 Barbarescos I tasted during my most recent visit to the region this past August. The best 2014s and 2013s are exciting, thrilling wines that capture all the qualities that make Nebbiolo such a compelling grape. But far too often, the gap between the top estates and the rest is simply too wide for a region with the potential to make truly world-class wines.
