1997 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione

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.

Gaja ex-agronomist Federico Curtaz has been consulting here for the past two years, helping the Currado family more closely match clones and vine structure to the specific site, as well as further reduce yields. Even for their dolcetto, the Currados are now doing considerable leaf pulling to get riper fruit earlier. "At today's prices and in today's competitive marketplace, dolcetto can't be a simple, light food wine anymore," notes Luca Currado. Currado told me that in the family's view, '96 in Barolo and '97 in Barbaresco are the top recent vintages. "Nineteen ninety-eight is a very good year for Barbaresco too," he added, "but not up to the level of '97 or '96." Incidentally, the Barolo Brunate was hailed on in '98, so there may not be a Brunate bottling from this vintage.

Alfredo Currado is often described as an enlightened traditionalist, for his willingness to adapt or create new techniques to improve his wines. On my recent visit, he described his philosophy in a nutshell: "Tradition is the sum of 100 years of evolution; it does not mean 'just like my grandfather did it.' It is important to evolve but not to change." Above all, Currado is flexible, varying vinification and levage according to the cru and the vintage. For example, Currado uses a high percentage of barriques for his barberas. As a general rule, Currado does the malolactic fermentation in oak whenever possible, including all of the wines put in new barriques He uses some barriques for his Barolo Lazzarito "to round out such a masculine wine from Serralunga." But no small barrels are used for the more delicate Brunate, which is entirely from the lampia clone of nebbiolo. The '96 Villero, the first Villero since 1990, fermented for 22 days and then received an additional week of submerged cap maceration. This is one of my favorite addresses at which to smell and taste the differences between various top Barolo crus, as the wines offer extraordinary Barolo perfume. x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D Currado describes '97 and '96 as big and round; both vintages, he says, resemble '90. In 1997, it was very difficult to get the acid/alcohol balance right. The '95s, he says, "are elegant and long but not large." (Premiere Wine Merchants, New York, NY; Franklin Selections, Annapolis Junction, MD; M. S. Walker, Boston, MA)