1978 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione

This wine was tasted during the Festa del Barolo at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City, February 2015.

A simple, informal dinner at Becco, in New York City's theater district, provided an incredible opportunity to survey a broad range of vintages of Vietti's Barolo Rocche. Vietti is one of Barolo's historic properties. Husband and wife team Alfredo Currado and Luciana Vietti were pioneers in the 1960s. They were among the first producers to recognize the unique qualities of their vineyards, many of which are among the finest in the region, even today. Their 1961 Barolo Rocche was among the earliest Barolos to be made from a single vineyard rather than from a blend of plots as was the prevailing custom at the time. Vietti was also one of the first estates to export a significant amount of their production to overseas markets, especially to the US. In fact, I remember that when I lived in Italy a few years ago their wines were always easier to find in the US than locally. Today, the estate is run by brothers-in-law Luca Currado and Mario Cordero. While the quality of the Barolos continues to be very high what impresses me most about Vietti is the quality of all their wines, from top to bottom. The Rocche vineyard is located in Castiglione Falletto, not too far from the winery. The hallmarks of this site are perfumed fruit, finessed, silky tannins, and a sweetness to the fruit that makes the wines accessible at a relatively early age for Barolo, all qualities that were on full display in the wines. The atmosphere in the room was electric as we worked our way through this breathtaking array of wines, which we enjoyed alongside Becco's traditional Italian fare. The food was delicious, but on this night our attention was understandably focused on the wines. Special thanks are due to collector Greg Dal Piaz who organized the dinner and contributed all of the wines except for the 2003 and 2004, which were brought by Luca Currado.

For most observers 1978 occupies a hallowed place among the legendary vintages in Piedmont. From a purely historical perspective 1978 is also a fascinating vintage to study because it is the last important vintage in which the wines were largely made with traditional methods, both in the vineyards and in the cellar. These wines pre-date the arrival of the more modern style of winemaking which in the 1980s would begin to change the way many estates vinified and aged their wines. A recent dinner in New York with a group of die-hard Nebbiolo fanatics provided a great opportunity to re-visit many of the vintage's benchmark wines. As often happens, extraordinary vintages are the result of unpredictable and unexpected climactic conditions. “1978 was a very strange year,” says Mauro Mascarello. “The spring was quite damp, which resulted in a delayed and irregular flowering. The plants were carrying only about one-half of their normal amount of fruit. We basically had no summer, as the weather remained cool, rainy and foggy all the way through August. It really looked like it would be a terrible vintage. Then, all of a sudden, on the first of September the weather turned, and we had uninterrupted heat all the way through to October, with our harvest taking place in the second half of October.” The hot weather fully ripened the little fruit that remained and the naturally low yields gave some of the most concentrated, memorable wines ever made These 1978s show the extraordinary longevity that the best Barolos and Barbarescos offer. I was amazed at how youthful the wines were, an opinion shared by most, if not all, of the other tasters. Many wines displayed a lively, healthy color and appeared to be still full of life. Critics of traditionally made wines would say that the 1978s are an example of how these wines are never really ready to drink, and certainly the wines have required a great deal of patience. However, after having tasted more than twenty wines from this vintage over the last few months I can only conclude that the 1978s have proven to be well worth the effort of waiting. Well-stored bottles will provide the emotionally moving drinking experience that only a few of the world's great wines can offer. The wines were decanted several hours prior to serving and were tasted non-blind. While researching this article I had the opportunity to taste several other 1978s and also I include notes on those wines.