Focus on Barbaresco – A Close Look at 2019 & 2020

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | OCTOBER 27, 2022

Nebbiolo is a fascinating variety because it is so transparent, so nuanced. The essence of site, vintage and a grower’s approach all come through loud and clear. Readers will find a number of gorgeous wines in both 2019 and 2020, but these vintages require careful selection, as they are somewhat inconsistent. That said, Barbaresco remains a terrific hunting ground for wines of place that in most cases remain very reasonably priced in today's world.

Based on my tastings last year, I expected 2019 to be a stronger vintage across the board than it turned out to be. “We will bottle the Riservas in 2019, but in smaller quantities,” Aldo Vacca told me during my tasting at Produttori del Barbaresco. “Quality was excellent, but results varied considerably within each vineyard. Only the best parcels did well. Compare that to 2016, when everything was so outstanding, we almost did not make Langhe Nebbiolo. That’s the key difference between 2019 and 2016.” But that is not the case everywhere. “Hail damage in 2018 limited the crop severely in 2019,” Rossana Gaja explained. “As a result, we chose to skip the single-vineyard Barbarescos and blended our best lots into the straight Barbaresco.”

Carlo Castellengo and Monica and Daniela Rocca at Albino Rocca made some of their best wines yet in 2019.

The 2019 Growing Season & Wines

The 2019 growing season had its up and downs. Heavy rains in the spring reduced the crop dramatically, especially for those producers who follow more sustainable practices in the field. Marchesi di Grésy reported losses of around 30%, while at Sottimano yields were down as much as 50%. Summer brought a few heat events. “We had some heat spikes in 2019, but they were less prolonged than in 2018,” Danilo Nada explained. Ripening was generally gradual and led to an October harvest, which is on the later side by today’s standards. There was a bit of rain in October, during harvest, which is never ideal.

In tasting, many 2019s have a slight aggressiveness in their tannins. Others are a bit light in structure. That could be attributable to shocks from the preceding years (severe drought in 2017 and hail in 2018) or the nature of the 2019 growing season, including late-season rains, or perhaps a combination of factors. To be sure, management of the vineyards is a huge challenge. “Thankfully, we have moved away from the excessively low yields of the 1990s,” opined noted viticulturist Gian Piero Romana. “Today, pretty much all growers leave a bit more fruit on the vines. But that has serious implications, as larger crops require more water to ripen. At the same time, vineyards need to be in equilibrium. Cover crops help maintain moisture, add nutrients to the soils and prevent erosion, but if they are excessive, they compete with the vines for water. Basically, when the tannins are refined, it is a sign that key events such as rain and heat were well-timed, and that there were no shocks. Conversely, when tannins are harsh, that means the timing of those events was not optimal.”