1998 Barolo Sarmassa

The key to the deep colors and extraordinary richness of these wines is Voerzio tiny yields, among the lowest in the Langhe region at less than one kilo of fruit per vine, which yields less than a bottle of wine. I saw it with my own eyes: a week prior to the start of the harvest, the vines to either side of Voerzio's Capalot holding below the town of La Morra carried more than twice the crop load as Voerzio's, with many more bunches per vine and larger clusters. As there's less volume of fruit for Voerzio's vines to ripen, potential alcohol levels tend to be high, and Voerzio is often in a position to harvest earlier, a major advantage if weather forecasts are grim. And Voerzio emphasizes that just 6 people work his 12 hectares of vines, giving him better control over the raw materials-"like a great chef." x000D x000D In Voerzio's view, the '97 vintage has great polpa(flesh), but also as much tannin as '96, though considerably lower acidity. "The '97s show a rare roundness for our region," he notes, adding that he also likes the slightly jammy quality of the fruit in '97. "If people in the area say their '98s were better, that's because they brought in too many grapes in '97."