1998 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche

1998 has always been an interesting vintage for Barolo. Caught between the more hyped 1996 and 1997 on one end, and 2000 and 2001 on the other, the 1998s have often been overlooked. It also didn't help that the wines were first released during a period global economic malaise. While 1998 is not a truly iconic, legendary vintage, these Barolos are great choices for medium-term drinking as a number of wines are entering their early maturity, making them great choices for readers who are cellaring wines from Piedmont's sturdier vintages such as 1996, 1999 and 2001.

Piedmont experienced mostly warm weather in 1998 with spells of drought, though nowhere near the extremes seen in 1997. The wines have always been perfumed and accessible, with an attractive softness to the fruit. Even better, the vast majority of the wines have never shut down to the extent that wines from cooler vintages often do. The 1998s are extremely consistent across the board, and that level of outstanding quality may very well end up being the vintage's strongest attribute. As is typically the case, the Barolos of La Morra and Barolo are the most forward, while those of Serralunga are the freshest. Most of these wines were from my cellar, purchased and cellared since release, although I tasted a few of the wines a second time with the producers.

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."