2007 Barolo Castiglione

Luca Currado describes his 2008 Barolos as "leaner, delicate wines with long, minerally finishes, close to pinot noir and more like the Barolos of the 1980s." He finds the 2005, 2006s and 2007s to be richer and more opulent. In my tasting here in September, the young 2008s were overshadowed by Currado's magnificent 2007s, which clearly benefited from a harvest on the early side, with healthy levels of natural acidity (in the range of 6 grams per liter). "Some later pickers had falling acidity levels in very warm conditions," noted Currado. "It's a mistake to consider 2007 as a hot vintage: the summer featured much lower degree days than 2006, and there were many cool nights in September."

Sadly the world lost Alfredo Currado – one of Piedmont's pioneers – last year, but I am sure he would have been thrilled to see how his son's wines have turned out. Luca Currado's 2007 Baroli are every bit as impressive from bottle as they were from cask. Interestingly, Vietti is one of the few producers where the house style and vineyard nuances are just as evident as vintage character. Although the 2007s are gorgeous today, most of the wines shut down quickly in the glass, suggesting they may be headed for a period of stubbornness. All of the wines now see a fairly lengthy period of several weeks of contact on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels and aging in large, Slavonian oak casks. Always curious to explore, Currado continues to make small adjustments to vinification, including an experimental 2010 Barolo made with a strictly traditional approach that may end up being bottled only in magnum. I think it is fair to say readers will be stunned by the quality of the wines that are emerging from this family run property in Castiglione Falletto. An upcoming article on this site will take an in-depth look at the estate's Barolo Riserva Villero. T