2007 Barolo Sarmassa

This is a stunning set of wines from Roberto Voerzio. I have been following Voerzio's 2007s for several years, and now that they are in bottle they are every bit as magical as I had hoped they would be. Stylistically, the 2007s are most reminiscent of the 2004s, but with more fruit. Although the wines should be cellared for at least a few years, readers who can't resist the urge to taste them now should open their bottles at least a few hours in advance. Voerzio's passion, his ability to make fabulous, ageworthy wines even in the smallest of vintages, and his total commitment to quality, even over a period of years that have been very difficult on a personal level place him at the pinnacle of achievement among the world's most gifted winemakers. The financial resources needed to acquire these wines are significant. With the exception of a transitionary period in the mid 1990s, every wine I have tasted and bought from these cellars since 1988 has been brilliant, and many have been profound. Vintage 2007 is the last to have been aged exclusively in French oak, beginning in 2008 all of the Baroli are aged in equal parts cask and French oak, the approach Voerzio used for his wines through 1993. As we were going to press I learned that Roberto Voerzio's wife, Pinuccia, lost her battle with a long illness. I met Pinuccia several times, always on the run, but she was always kind and gracious, even when she had every reason not to be. At 55 she was far too young to have left behind a loving family. I have had many memorable tastings at the winery, but by far the most memorable was in November 2009, when the Voerzios opened several dozen wines that pretty much spanned their entire career. As I was leaving, I stopped, as I always do, to look at the beautiful collage of photos that hangs in the tasting room. It is a moving chronology full of pictures of a young Roberto and Pinuccia in their vineyards and in other happy moments of their life together. A song by the famous Italian singer Antonello Venditti was playing on the radio. I could feel it was a special moment. I just didn't know how special. I know I am joined by all of our readers in offering the Voerzio family our deepest condolences.

Roberto Voerzio's Barolos are some of the richest, deepest and most texturally beautiful wines readers will come across. This incredible tasting, which spanned 20 vintages and nearly 40 wines, provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to look at the evolution of one of the world's most talented and passionate winemakers. I was struck with nearly all the wines I sampled, but in many ways it is the Barolos from the smaller, forgotten vintages that made the deepest impression. The majority of these wines were tasted during a visit to the winery in November 2009, while a few additional bottles came from my cellar.

Roberto Voerzio had a clear idea of the wines he wanted to make from the outset, but he got a later start than most of his contemporaries because he spent the first years of his career working alongside his brother Gianni before striking out on his own in 1987. Over the years, Roberto Voerzio acquired parcels in La Morra's finest sites, giving him a collection of grand cru vineyards matched by few growers. Despite all of his success, Voerzio remains an essentially simple, down to earth person with a continuous drive to improve that is rare, even in Piedmont. Today Voerzio makes as many as seven single-vineyard Barolos. Voerzio's fanaticism informs all aspects of production, and he only bottles his wines when he is completely happy with them, so it is the rare vintage when all seven Barolos are released. A luxury Barbera from the Pozzo vineyard in the Annunziata district of La Morra made with the same rigorous low yields as the Barolos and a more affordable set of wines including a Dolcetto, Barbera and Langhe Nebbiolo round out the range.

Though often lumped in with the modern school in Barolo, Voerzio takes his greatest inspiration from the masters of the traditional school, including Bruno Giacosa, Giovanni Conterno and Beppe Rinaldi, all men he still speaks about with the highest respect and admiration. I was amazed to see Voerzio open a number of reference-point Barolos from these producers at the end of this tasting; a decidedly high risk proposition, given the icon status of those bottles. I can't think of another producer – particularly one with a relatively short track record – so willing to put everything on the line in openly comparing his wines to the acknowledged masterpieces of the region.

Voerzio is best known for fanatically low yields, which clearly inform his Barolos and is a major reason his early vintages remain fresh and intact to this day, a quality shared by many of his wines from lesser vintages as well. Twenty years ago the idea of green harvesting was still radical in Piedmont, a poor, agrarian region where cutting of bunches of grapes was seen as the equivalent of throwing money away. Voerzio was convinced otherwise and followed his instincts by pursuing a radical approach to low yields. Voerzio cuts entire bunches off his plants, the point the rows between his vineyards are literally strewn with fruit. Bunches that remain are meticulously trimmed, particularly towards the bottom and the sides of the bunch, where the harsher tannins are believed to lie. The typical triangular Nebbiolo bunch is transformed into a small, roundish shape, and yields are brought down to level previously never seen in Piedmont. Part Five – Looking Ahead: The 2007 and 2008 Barolos

Voerzio's 2007s are shaping up to be stratospheric; in fact 2007 may turn out to be one of his very finest vintages. The wines have always been spectacular from barrel and they seem to get better and better each time I taste them. Vintage 2007 is also the first year since 2004 that Voerzio produced his entire range. All of these 2007 Barolos were tasted from oak, while the Merlot and Barbera Pozzo were tasted from bottle. Beginning with his 2008s, Voerzio is aging his Barolos in a combination of roughly equal parts large cask and French oak, an approach he used for his early vintages through 1993. I was only able to sample two 2008s, both from cask only, but they were breathtakingly beautiful. These will be fascinating wines to follow over the coming years. I have not provided maturity dates for the 2007s and 2008s as the wines were taken from single barrels and were therefore not final blends.