2021 Barolo: Changing Times, Changing Wines

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | JANUARY 7, 2025

My November trip to Piedmont was one of the most intriguing in recent memory. Producers were living in a sort of suspended state, their thoughts bouncing back and forth from the challenges of the just-concluded 2024 harvest to excitement over the soon-to-be-released 2021s and the outcome of the recent presidential election in the United States. Against that very colorful background, I tasted a stunning array of new releases. The 2021 Barolos are finessed, elegant wines that will delight Piedmont fans.

Our annual report surveys the latest from a wide range of producers and includes notes on Piedmont’s everyday wines, bottles that I consider just as essential when it comes to appreciating the region’s rich oenological landscape. The pace of change continues to be fast. This year I tasted wines from several producers who were new to me. The explosion of new wineries and projects is one of the most exciting trends in Piedmont today.

Ileana and Paolo Giordano, seen in their small garage winery in Perno, began bottling their estate Barolo only with the 2018 vintage. The wines have gotten better and better since then. 

2021 Barolo: Cutting to the Chase

Two thousand twenty-one is a superb vintage for Barolo. Many of the entry-level Barolos (often referred to as normale or classico) are terrific, always a sign of a good year. Readers will find a bevy of outstanding wines in this report. The 2021s are marked by good color, open aromatics, pliant fruit and finessed, ripe tannins. At the very pinnacle of excellence, the finest 2021s are compelling and profoundly expressive of place. They are richer than the generally austere 2019s but more vibrant than the open-knit 2020s, making 2021 the most harmonious and consistent of the group. In the final analysis, 2021 is a vintage marked by high average quality. The only thing missing is perhaps the stratospheric peaks of the most exceptional years. It is a vintage that readers will want to explore with great attention, especially considering that Mother Nature was much less generous with her bounty in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

‘Ring a lot, but not too much!’ reads the sign at the entrance to the Giuseppe Rinaldi winery in the heart of Barolo.

The 2021 Growing Season

By most accounts, 2021 was a relatively benign season, except for a few highly localized shock events. The year got off to an early start before temperatures cooled a bit in April and May. Heat summation data shows that 2021 was  warmer than the 20-year average, notably in the summer months of June through September. Although temperatures remained elevated throughout the summer, there were no spikes or periods of abnormally high heat. Rainfall was lower than normal, but precipitation in the preceding winter was no doubt beneficial, as were well-timed summer showers. “We did start to see some heat stress at the end of the year,” Alex Sánchez explained at Brovia. “A little stress for vineyards is a positive. Stress, but not torture.”

Two thousand twenty-one was not without its challenges. Severe frost in April reduced the crop in several top sites. Brovia lost 50% of their production in Garblèt Sue'. Nicola and Stefania Oberto at Trediberri suffered similar losses in Rocche dell’Annunziata. Similarly, sisters Marta and Carlotta Rinaldi endured crippling frost in Brunate that eventually led to a significant replanting of the vineyard. Devastating hail in mid-July was especially damaging in nearby Roero and Monferrato but also made itself felt in a few sites in Barolo.