Barbaresco: The Highs & Lows of 2016-2020

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | OCTOBER 22, 2020 

Readers will find a wide range of wines from Barbaresco in the market ranging from majestic, soaring 2016s to the far more variable 2017s and the first 2018 releases. With its stunningly beautiful, hillside vineyards, Barbaresco remains a terrific destination for consumers looking for site-specific, Old World wines that won’t break the bank.

The Good News First – 2016 Is Truly Epic

Two years ago, in my article Barbaresco – Out of the Shadows: The 2016s & 2015s I wrote, “The young 2016 Barbarescos are some of the most compelling young wines I have tasted in twenty years of visiting the region. Many of the 2016s are still in barrel, but the picture that is starting to emerge from wines I tasted in bottle and cask is of a very high quality vintage with the potential to be truly extraordinary.”

A view from Bruno Rocca's vines in Rabajà. The first diagonal dirt alley visible is the border between Rabajà and Asili, just as the hill starts to turn.

Now that virtually all the wines have been released, I can say that 2016 is a truly epic vintage for Barbaresco. So many wines are off the charts. Gaja, Produttori del Barbaresco, Ronchi, Cantina del Pino, Vietti, Fiorenzo Nada, Moccagatta, Sottimano, La Ca’ Nova and La Spinetta are among the estates that made some of their finest wines ever. A benign growing season with no shocks gave producers the ideal conditions to make stunning wines, and many of them did. Two thousand-sixteen is also a fabulous vintage through which to explore the vineyards of Barbaresco, as site signatures are so pronounced. It’s pretty hard to go wrong, especially among quality-minded growers. My advice for consumers is simple: buy as much 2016 Barbaresco as you can. Quality is extraordinary for so many wines, while the market seems to be more focused on Barolo than Barbaresco. It’s a great opportunity. Unfortunately, 2017 and 2018 are going to require far more selection.