2019 Barolo Monvigliero

“Spring was rainy, as it was in 2018, but less problematic,” Fabio Alessandria relayed at Burlotto. “We had heat in the summer, and yet spikes were not prolonged and were followed by rain in each instance, so the vines never went into stress. We had rain again before harvest and some hail, but again, nothing problematic. Harvest was wrapped up by October 19.” Alessandria gave his 2019s 20-30 days on the skins, then racked into cask relatively early. "I don't like malolactic fermentation in steel," he explained. As always, the Monvigliero follows a very different protocol in the cellar. It is fermented with 100% whole bunches and sees a full 60 days on the skins, with submerged cap maceration at the end. All the Barolos saw about 33 months in cask. Oak aging is one area where things can vary considerably. For example, the 2018s saw much less time in wood, as did some of the 2020s.