1996 Barolo Riserva Falletto

For Bruno Giacosa vintage 1999 was more successful in Barolo rather than Barbaresco, where climactic conditions proved to be very challenging. “Our Barbaresco vineyards got hit by hail four times in 1999,” explains long-time enologist Dante Scaglione. “The most severe hailstorm came in August, so at least in some places the vines had time to recover before the harvest, but nevertheless it was a difficult vintage.” In Rabajà the damage was so extensive that a wine from this plot was not released. In Asili the conditions were less severe, although the wine does show the effects of the compromised fruit in its evolving color and flavors. Santo Stefano was also a victim of hail but seems to have been less adversely affected. Fortunately weather conditions were much more favorable in Barolo where Giacosa produced three excellent Barolos in 1999. The estate's Barolo normale comes from the youngest vines in the Falletto vineyard, where the plants average 6-7 years in age. “When Nebbiolo vines are young they tend to produce slightly bitter, astringent tannins. Even though we prune the vines and green harvest, those plants simply aren't old enough to be used for the more important Barolos, so they go into the normale,” says Scaglione. These younger vines tend to be planted in spots that have a southwest orientation, meaning they receive mostly the afternoon sun, as opposed to the more south-facing center portion of the vineyard which is used for the Barolos Falletto and Le Rocche del Falletto. Le Rocche del Falletto, made from the heart of the vineyard, is a “cru within a cru” and is one of Barolo's most legendary wines. It is here that the vines have the best exposure. Although the older age of the plants gives naturally low yields, Giacosa has historically preferred to maintain a more moderate approach to crop-thinning and his yields have never been among the lowest in the region. The discussion around Red Label Riservas and White Label Non-Riservas is always a hot topic of conversation. “To be honest, like many people we got a little carried away with the enthusiasm surrounding vintage 2000,” says Scaglione. “We already had plans for a Red Label Santo Stefano (the 1998) and Red Label Barolo (the 2000 Le Rocche del Falletto) and we probably overlooked the 1999 Le Rocche del Falletto. To me it was always a wine worthy of the Red Label. I think of it as a slightly lesser version of the 1996 Riserva Falletto (Red Label), and very much in the same mold stylistically.” [Editors Note: The 1996 Riserva Falletto was made from the plot now known as Le Rocche del Falletto.] Many observers have noted that Giacosa's wines have become more approachable over the last few years. This is no doubt due to several factors, including warmer vintages (1997, 1998, 2000) and the replacement of many of the estates older barrels beginning in 1997. His 1999 Barolos, however, are a throwback to a more traditional style and will appeal to those who appreciate classically structured wines. I left my bottles of the 1999 Barolos Falletto and Le Rocche del Falletto open for days and the wines were still outstanding nearly a week after having been opened. “The growing season was quite favorable,” says Scaglione. “Summer was hot although it never got too hot, and into the fall we had the cool nights which are so essential for Nebbiolo. We did about 12-15 days fermentation after which the wines completed their malolactic fermentations, mostly in steel. The malos were finished largely by the end of the year, with a few barrels taking until January. [Editors Note: In 2004 the malos went well into the following spring.] We had good acidity after the malos, ranging from 5.5% to 6%, compared to the roughly 5% we had in vintages like 1997, 2000 and 2003. The wines then went into large barrels of either 55 to 110 hectoliters where they completed their aging for roughly 30 months for the Barbarescos, 32 months for the Barolo normale and 36 months for the Barolos Falletto and Le Rocche del Falletto.”

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.