2013 Barolo Sarmassa

This is a fine set of wines from Roberto Voerzio. Over the last decade or so, Voerzio has radically changed the style of his Barolos. It's been a gradual transition, but today's wines are far more translucent, medium in body and, for lack of a better word, classic than the wines of the past, the wines that made him famous. I enjoyed these wines, but frankly, I liked the wines more when they were opulent and exotic. Don't get me wrong, these current releases are outstanding, but the wines just aren't as unique as they used to be.

Roberto Voerzio fans have plenty to look forward to two new wines with the 2016 vintage. The first of these is a more modestly priced Barolo del Comune di La Morra that sits between the Langhe Nebbiolo and the vineyard designate bottlings, that is made from Voerzio's top sites but cropped at slightly higher yields than the vineyard designates. At the higher-end, the new Barolo RV 350 (Roberto Voerzio, with yields of 350 grams per plant instead of the customary 500) is made from the two most promising vineyards in each vintage. As always, one of the central tenets of the Voerzio approach is a steadfast belief that the relationship between low yields and high quality is always linear. An unexpectedly severe outbreak of peronospera in spring and Voerzio's preference to treat the vineyards as little as possible resulted in yields that are down by around 40% across the board. There will be no Rocche dell'Annunziata and Case Nere, both sites that were especially affected by the difficult conditions. At this stage, the Barolos that are the most delicate, the Cerequio and Sarmassa, are the most affected by bottling, while the more powerful wines are the least affected. Over the years, Voerzio has moved his winemaking towards more gentle extractions and lowered the influence of French oak, both of which allow the purity of the fruit to be quite expressive. There are plenty of highlights in this range, but less wine than usual to go around.