1998 Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba

I found it at least slightly surprising that ultra-traditionalist Giacosa prefers the 2000 vintage to 2001. "It's best when a vintage is great and easy, like 2000," he told me, adding that 2001 produced a tougher style of wine. "Two thousand is similar to 1998, which is easy to drink now or in the future but has better acidity than 2000. In fact, 1998 combines the best traits of 1996 and 1997. Nineteen ninety-nine, in comparison, is difficult to drink now and needs aging. Sugars were actually a bit lower than those of 2000 and 1998, but this vintage is the deepest in terms of coloring matter." At the time of my visit, Giacosa did not expect to be able to make Barolo or Barbera in 2001 (unlike most of his colleagues in the Langhe, Giacosa has never been loath to express reservations about a vintage): "Even before the hail, the season was terrible. We had no warm sun since the beginning of June and we had a lot of rain for a full month during the middle of summer."

The '98s have higher sugars, says enologist Dante Scaglione, but the '99s boast firmer acidity. In fact, adds Scaglione, pHs in '99 are as low as those of the classic '96 vintage, the recent vintage that was highest in polyphenols. The '97s, he adds, are almost drinkable right now. Sunny, dry days and warm nights in the weeks leading up to the '97 harvest resulted in substantial loss of coloring matter in the skins. Some of the fermentations were difficult (in a couple of instances the malos finished before the sugars were completely fermented), with the result that volatile acidity levels are at the high end of the acceptable range, which has the effect of making the wines even more expressive early on. Giacosa has somewhat shortened total maceration times in recent years, to about 15 days. The current crop of wines, thanks in equal part to shorter time on the skins and the ripeness of recent growing seasons, will not be quite as austere and forbidding in their youth as Giacosa wines of even a decade ago, but this magician's Barolos and Barbarescos from the best vintages still have fruit of steel.