2012 & 2013 Barbaresco – A Study in Contrasts

Readers will find two very different sets of wines in the 2012 and 2013 Barbarescos. The 2012s are open-knit, supple and ready to drink, while the 2013s - from one of the latest years in recent memory - embody all the qualities that make Nebbiolo one of the world's most noble grapes; soaring aromatics, pulsating energy, structure, and, most importantly, the rare ability to transmit the essence of site.

2012 – Slow to Start, Slow to Finish

The 2012s are attractive wines from a vintage that appears to be best suited to near-term drinking. Many wines show the elevated ripeness from a period of intensely hot weather in early August, but at the same time the 2012s are decidedly medium in body, without the opulence found in the 2011s, another vintage marked by warm temperatures. One of the shortcomings of 2012 is that vineyard signatures are not fully developed, which results in an element of sameness across many wines. Overall, 2012 is an average vintage with a few overachievers and large number of wines that will offer their best drinking sooner rather than later. 

The growing season got off to a difficult start. The winter was brutally cold. In Burgundy, the cold killed quite a few plants in lower lying areas. Mother Nature was kinder to Piedmont. Flowering was late and took place under cold, damp conditions, which caused a loss of around 10-20% of the potential crop. Periods of warmth alternated with cooler spells in an up and down season with little regularity. A blast of heat in early August was so severe it caused dehydration. The rest of the summer was overcast, with moderate temperatures and very little sun. Hail was an issue in a few spots, including Asili and Pajè. Nevertheless, sugar readings were on the high side heading into harvest. A final spell of rain just before harvest was the final wrinkle growers had to deal with in what turned out to be a difficult year.

It’s always a challenge to make generalizations about Piedmont, as there are so many subtleties with each twist and turn of these snaking, hillside vineyards. Still, the data I was able to compare from weather stations in Monforte and Barbaresco showed that Barbaresco had higher average temperatures, higher peaks, along with 25% more rain and 19% more growing degree days.

Of course, one has to keep in mind that parts of the town of Barbaresco is next to the Tanaro river and its warming influence and that Barbaresco sits lower than Monforte, so warmer temperatures alone may not be that significant. But the differences in rainfall and growing degree days are too significant to ignore.

Interestingly, sugar levels and polyphenols track recent historical averages, but anthocyanins, which are developed through diurnal shifts towards the end of the growing season, are quite a bit lower than those that one might see in a more classic year, such as 2013. This may explain why the 2012s are both ripe, deep and juicy, but also lacking in color. Wine rarely comes down to numbers alone, but some of the keys to unlocking the essence of the 2012 vintage might lie in understanding those figures.

Cole and Montefico as seen from Ronchi, Barbaresco