2018 & 2019 Barbaresco Take Center Stage

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | FEBRUARY 15, 2022

My annual report on Barbaresco focuses on the 2018 and 2019 vintages in Barbaresco and other recent releases. Piedmont fans will be happy to learn that 2018 is far better and more consistent in Barbaresco than it is in Barolo. The first 2019 Barbarescos I have tasted point to an outstanding vintage that has the potential to be superb. In short, readers will find a large number of exceptional wines in this article. 

Andrea Sottimano in front of his Gamba fermentation vats. Sottimano made some of the most compelling Barbarescos of 2018.

The 2018 Growing Season & Wines

Not surprisingly, Barbaresco experienced many of the same challenges as Barolo in 2018. Hail damage was severe in some spots, including Basarin, Currà and Sorì San Lorenzo. “We had some hail in April and then a second, much more devastating storm, on July 15. I remember the day well because it was the finals of the World Cup and I had a bunch of French winemakers over at the house,” Andrea Sottimano explained. France would go on to hoist the trophy. Growers in Barbaresco had other matters on their minds. “Luckily, hail arrives in streaks, so all was not lost. We cleaned up the affected areas and moved ahead. Production is down significantly in some places, like Basarin, where we lost 50% of the crop. Even so, I hardly feel like complaining given what growers in other regions have experienced these last few years.”

Constant rain in spring and summer resulted in elevated disease pressure, while making it very difficult, if not impossible, for vineyard crews to apply anti-rot treatments with tractors. Summer months were hot and dry, while harvest was on the later side. On the surface, that seems pretty similar to Barolo, and, in some ways it is. But there are also at least two key differences. In my recent report on 2018 Barolo, I wrote that the drought and heat of 2017 left the vines in a weakened and vulnerable state. I see less evidence of that in Barbaresco. I also believe a number of sites simply handled the moisture better. 

There will be no Riservas from the Produttori del Barbaresco in 2018. “Disease pressure was high throughout the year,” Aldo Vacca explained when I stopped by. “There were some diurnal shifts at the end of the season, then a week where temperatures warmed before cooling again. The wines lacked color and depth relative to stronger vintages,” he added. 

Gaja did not bottle their single-vineyard Barbarescos and opted to use all the best fruit for their straight Barbaresco. “We weren’t able to do our usual blend of 14 vineyards because hail in July damaged a number of our vineyards. Many sites were unscathed, though, and they form the core of the 2018 blend. These include Costa Russi, Sorì Tildin, Roncaglie, Roncagliette and Pajorè, sites that tend to give a bit more structure than those planted on sandier soils,” Gaia Gaja recounted.

This lineup from Bruno and Danilo Nada is the most impressive I have tasted in more than twenty years of visiting the estate.

Other estates bottled all of their cru Barbarescos, some with notable success, including La Ca’ Nova, Sottimano and Fiorenzo Nada. “Two-thousand eighteen saw slow ripening until mid-September, then everything happened very fast," Marco Rocca explained. "Skins starting to degrade in the tanks pretty quickly, so we took the wines off the skins earlier than normal. We gave the crus 16-17 months in barrel instead of 20-22, which is more typical for us.”