Timorasso is a native, white Piedmontese grape variety that had almost completely disappeared but has made a remarkable comeback.

References to the variety (sometimes under different names) suggest it has been grown in the region since the early 13th century, but only half a hectare of Timorasso remained by 1985.

Once destined for oblivion, the grape was saved when visionary pioneer Walter Massa recognised its potential.

Massa became the first – and for some time, the only – person to believe in the variety, especially its capacity for ageing.

But others began to see its potential too and by 2025, plantings of Timorasso had grown to 500 hectares.

What does Timorasso taste like?

The typical characteristics of this hard-to-cultivate variety, which also requires careful attention during vinification, include lively acidity, accompanied by a sapid, lingering finish.

Often quite deep in colour – veering towards gold – it can be both mineral and lemony in character or richer, with stone and honey notes.

If you see one be sure to ask what style you're going to get!

Where is it grown?

Timorasso is now the focus of wine production that has transformed the Colli Tortonesi, an unspoilt environment where vineyards, orchards, fields, woods and meadows coexist in a mosaic of biodiversity.

Colli Tortonesi in Piedmont is a place where new wineries keep appearing, and even producers from the Langhe are investing here.

Derthona (a future sub-zone of the Colli Tortonesi Timorasso DOC) continues to grow steadily, underlined by the ‘Derthona Giovani’, a vibrant group of young winemakers collaborating to drive forward these increasingly promising Timorasso wines.

Timorasso: Five to try

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The Ca’Marcanda project in the sea-kissed region of coastal Tuscany began in 1996, led by the pioneering vision of Angelo Gaja.

It was a decision fuelled by curiosity – his daughter Gaia coyly jokes that her father could be accused of ‘cheating on Nebbiolo with Cabernet’.

Yet, what Bolgheri really represented was a great sense of freedom.

‘Stylistically there were no preconceptions; it’s the new world of Italy,’ she notes.

The Gaja name is perhaps best known as a leading light in Piedmont under Angelo Gaja, but today the family’s estates span three regions of Italy: Piedmont (Barbaresco, Barolo and Alta Langa), Tuscany (Ca’Marcanda in Bolgheri and Pieve Santa Restituta in Montalcino) and Sicily (Idda on Etna).

Settling in Bolgheri

As Gaia explains, ‘We arrived 10 years later’ – namely after the key names that led the historic Super Tuscan movement of the 1980s, from Grattamacco to Guado al Tasso and Ornellaia.

While Angelo Gaja remains involved in key viticultural decisions, since 2012 it has been the three siblings of the family’s fifth generation that tasted and decided each week with the winemaker.

‘Here I grew a lot thanks to the experiments at Ca’Marcanda… It is a philosophy of doing, of being hands-on,’ says Gaia.

The flagship: Camarcanda

Gaja’s 120ha Ca'Marcanda estate focuses on four key labels: three reds (Promis, Magari and Camarcanda) and a white blend, Vistamare.

For the reds, key international varieties take centre stage, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Syrah, in addition to Sangiovese.

The distinct Bolgheri landscape offers a range of soil types, from more sandy to clay-driven and mineral-rich.

This is in particular due to the influence of the Metalliferous Hills, which in the past was a key area for copper, iron, marble and limestone mines.

Recent zoning studies have evidenced around 27 different soil types; to which Gaia acknowledged, ‘the future of Bolgheri will still have a lot of surprises for us’.

Flagship wine Camarcanda represents the estate’s true calling card, produced from some of its best plots.

Today it is a Cabernet Sauvignon-driven blend with the remainder Cabernet Franc, while in the past Merlot also featured.

‘Italianity’ as a marker of identity

Gaia Gaja certainly knows how to command a room. Pulling listeners into her inner circle, she highlights the concept of ‘Italianity’ and the triumph of the ‘ingredient’ or ‘raw material’ in winemaking and gastronomic excellence in Italy.

For her, it's a sense that ‘complexity is not the same as complicated’ that is key, and what truly matters is purity of fruit and territory.

Looking ahead

The effects of climate change on winemaking were already front of mind in Angelo’s choices.

Forward-thinking and ambitious, from the outset he collaborated with university professors, entomologists, botanists and geologists.

Today, Ca’Marcanda remains a forerunner in its approach to the developments and adaptations required by the changing climate in both vineyard and winery.

Working with Professor Andrea Lucchi from the University of Pisa, the estate was involved in an extensive study of insect behaviour that culminated in the pioneering development of ‘smart bugs’, which are being trialled and used to tackle pests in the vineyard, beginning with Ca’Marcanda and now stretching to some 120 other producers.

A focus on the role of mixed agriculture (olives, cereals, woodland), composting practices, and cover crops (such as mustard, vetch and clover) are further strategies employed to encourage biodiversity and healthy soils.

More vigorous rootstocks are being chosen, along with a shift from cordon training to Guyot – in part to tackle vineyard diseases such as esca.

Planting orientations in the vineyard are changing too, with newer vines planted north to south rather than east to west in order to maximise freshness.

In the cellar, blending possibilities are being harnessed to make the most of difficult vintages.

Despite the unpredictability of an ever-changing climate, for Gaia these difficulties also constitute an exciting challenge.

She notes that it is these adverse vintages that provide the opportunity to showcase ‘excellence in consistency’, drawing on decades of experience and the ‘repetition of a craft that goes into the glass’.

The evolution of Ca'Marcanda in six wines

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Known collectively as Alto Piemonte, there are seven small areas in the foothills of the Italian Alps producing wines which are little known outside of the local area – Piedmont's ‘other’ Nebbiolo.

Once upon a time, Alto Piemonte was destination #1 for Nebbiolo, but the majority of the vines were grubbed up as its popularity waned in favour of Barolo and Barbaresco.

Comprising seven localities – Boca, Bramaterra, Faro, Gattinara, Ghemme, Lessona and Sizzano – today's Alto Piemonte wines are made on a scale that makes even the smallest wineries in the Langhe seem Bordeaux-like in comparison.

‘In Alto Piemonte, we lost a lot of vineyards in the last 50 years,’ says Mattia Antoniotti of the Antoniotti Odilio winery in Bramaterra.

How Alto Piemonte differs to the Langhe

Located on the northern border of the Piedmont region, the Nebbiolos of Alto Piemonte produce a significantly different style to the big hitters further south, tending towards redder fruits and less tannic structure, making for approachable – if occasionally ‘rustic’ – reds.

Conditions have warmed sufficiently in recent years, bringing the Nebbiolos from the marginal Alto Piemonte climate into the conversation alongside the best the region has to offer. As if to hammer home the point, two of the Langhe's top wineries have expanded into the area: Conterno (with Nervi Conterno), and Paitin (with Bianchi).

Below you'll find five recommendations, selected for value and drinkability.

Alto Piemonte: Five to try

Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW, Jason Millar and Stefan Neumann MS tasted 77 wines, with 5 Outstanding and 22 Highly recommended

Unoaked Italian reds: Panel tasting scores

77 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 5

Highly recommended 22

Recommended 45

Commended 5

Fair 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit red wines of any vintage from anywhere in Italy, made from grape varieties indigenous to the region of production, either 100% varietal or in a blend containing a minimum 85% of indigenous varieties; no vinification or ageing in oak of any type was permitted

Eschewing the oak

Wooden barrels have been used in the wine industry since Roman times, with producers commonly making use of local woods such as acacia, pine or chestnut.

Over time, oak became the preferred material due to its tight grain and abundance across Europe.

As winemakers recognised its positive influence on tannins and flavours, oak gained dominance in today’s wine industry.

Ripe black fruit flavours mixed with smoky (oak-derived) vanilla equals enjoyable drinking experiences for most consumers.

In the production of reds, winemakers use oak barrels or chips to add flavour and complexity, and to help soften tannins, which begs the question: don’t all red wines have oak?

There are more unoaked red wines made than we might initially realise; often they’re simpler, fruitier wines intended to be drunk young – Beaujolais and young Rioja being notable examples.

Yet no other country has more of an association with unoaked red wines than Italy.

The decision to not use oak is based on the desire to preserve the pure expression of a grape variety, to highlight regional terroir, or to create a fresher, more fruit-driven style.

Vessels such as stainless steel, concrete vats and clay amphorae allow for minimal intervention, letting inherent flavours shine – ‘wines without lipstick’ is how Jason Millar described these wines; completely exposed, without any beautification.

‘Wines that bring an element of joy to the drinker’

For this tasting, 17 of Italy’s 20 regions were represented. Piedmont, Tuscany and Sicily topped the list in terms of entries.

Sangiovese was the most popular variety, followed by Barbera – understandable, given that they’re two of Italy’s most planted varieties.

The main discussion among the judges was whether an unoaked wine could be more than simple and fruity. Could it be complex and have the ‘wow factor’?

The top achievers were simple but also concentrated and delicious expressions – ‘wines that bring an element of joy to the drinker’, according to Stefan Neumann MS.

Ultimately, our question was answered.

Without oak, these wines were capable of expressing purity and a true sense of place. And they certainly had that wow factor!

What to eat with unoaked Italian reds, by Fiona Beckett

So varied are these wines in terms of region and grape variety that it’s difficult to make a generalisation about wine matching, other than to focus on what kind of food unoaked Italian wines might successfully pair with in comparison with oaked wines.

By and large they’re younger, lower in alcohol and less expensive than their oaked counterparts – more for everyday or at least relaxed weekend drinking than fine dining.

In regions such as Tuscany, where red wine is predominantly an unoaked wine, it often takes the place of a white – the go-to with a homely chickpea and rosemary soup, for example, or a simple plate of pasta before moving on to a more serious wine with the meat.

Pizza is another obvious option, which isn’t to diminish these wines – it’s an underrated foil for a simple, well-made red.

With their typically pronounced acidity, unoaked reds are a natural match for salumi and, perhaps less obviously, for fish. There’s no reason why you can’t drink a light Sicilian red such as Frappato with pasta con le sarde (with sardines), for instance, or a Bardolino with some garlicky grilled prawns.

See all notes and scores from the unoaked Italian reds tasting

The judges

Unoaked Italian reds panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

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We are standing on the panoramic terrace of the tasting room of the Borgo Maragliano winery in Loazzolo, in the Alta Langa.

The Galliano family have produced Moscato here for three generations. They began to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the early 1980s, and were among the first of the new generation of ground-breaking metodo classico producers in the Langhe area of Piedmont.

The cellars are at 450 metres above sea level, while the average elevation of the vineyards spread out below us in a patchwork of vines, pastures and woodland is around 400m.

Carlo Galliano points to a plot which has been cleared on a hillside high above us, on the opposite side of the valley.

‘It’s at 600m,’ he explains. ‘The soils are perfect for Pinot Noir, but my father would never have planted a vineyard at that height. It would never have ripened. But today with the climate we have, it’s different. I’m going to be planting there in the spring.’

Taking advantage

When the production norms for the Alta Langa DOC (later DOCG) were drawn up in 2002, they stipulated that the wine had to be sourced from vineyards at above 250m.

Today the producers’ consorzio estimates that the average elevation is between 400 and 550m, although many growers are exploiting the opportunity offered by a changing climate to plant much higher – on sites where the grapes tick all the boxes for sparkling wine production; intense aroma, high acidity and low sugar.

When the Rivetti family acquired the historic house of Contratto in 2011, they planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dedicated to Alta Langa sparkling wine at between 700m and 820m.

And when Sara Vezza from the Josetta Saffirio winery at Monforte embarked on a production of her metodo classico, she planted on virgin soils at 700m at Murazzano, in an area of high pastures renowned for its cheeses and certainly not in the past for its wines.

It will be interesting to see how the arrival of viticulture will impact these often isolated rural sites in the future.

Italian metodo classico: A brief history

When it comes to metodo classico wines, Alta Langa is very much the new player on the block.

The three other major Italian DOCs for bottle re-fermented wines all arrived much earlier: Trento DOC dates from 1993, Oltre Po from 1970, and Franciacorta from 1967.

Yet production of metodo classico is not new to Piedmont – in 1850, following studies in Reims, Carlo Gancia founded the house of Gancia at Canelli.

Adapting the French system of bottle re-fermention using the local grape Moscato, he produced what is documented as Italy’s first traditional method sparkling wine.

Other historic houses including Calissano, Contratto and Cora followed suit, adding sparkling wines to the flourishing production of Vermouth of the period, emulating Champagne not only in the production method but also in the flamboyant liberty-style advertising posters which have become collectors’ items.

But then it all died away.

Fast forward to 1990, and a group of seven major Piedmontese houses launched a project to recreate the production of prestige metodo classico, which had been lost in the region.

In what would make an interesting case study in entrepreneurial initiative, the project started from zero, with experimental plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and by 1996, there were 48 hectares under vine.

The name Alta Langa was registered in 1998, and the following year the first wines were released.

The producers’ consorzio was founded in 2001, and in record time, DOC recognition arrived in 2002 for the new sparkling wine.

Building an identity

To create a distinctive identity for the new Alta Langa denomination, the production regulations drawn up in 2002 set the bar high.

To begin with, the base must be Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir, used individually or in combination.

There is no non-vintage version – Alta Langa is exclusively ‘millesimato’ – and it must age on its lees for a minimum of 30 months (36 months for the Riserva; this will increase to 60 months when the latest modifications to the regulations come into effect).

The potential area of production for Alta Langa is vast, taking in 149 villages in the three wine growing provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo.

But currently, only 600ha are registered. To put that in perspective, Barbaresco has around 750ha registered.

Calcareous marl soils predominate, with varying textures depending on the percentage of clay to sand.

Production is limited but growing, with projections for the 2025 total of two million bottles to increase to five million by 2030.

Two great Piedmontese traditions are reflected in the cross-section of Alta Langa producers.

On one hand, there are the long-established sparkling wine and Vermouth houses like Cocchi, Coppi, Contratto and Gancia; on the other hand, small- to medium-scale family-run estates.

Many famous names from the red wine denominations of the Langhe have added Alta Langa to their lists, as have Moscato producers from Asti.

The Alta Langa style

If Trento DOC is all about crisp elegance, and Franciacorta round complexity, Alta Langa offers structure and depth.

The absence of an entry level non-vintage label, combined with extended ageing, are distinguishing features accentuated by the orientation of many producers towards the driest pas dosé (equivalent to brut nature) and extra brut styles.

These styles are not always the most accessible, however, and blanc de noir bottlings in particular can feel very dry indeed, and undeniably Piedmontese: austere, long-lived, and great with food.

10 top Alta Langa for your glass

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There is no doubt that Nebbiolo is responsible for some of Italy’s most extraordinary, complex and age-worthy wines.

In fact, Barolo and Barbaresco sit alongside the greats of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Yet unlike Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo has only recently started emerging from the shadow of its loftiest denominations.

In true Nebbiolo form, it is doing so with grace and agility. This is a testament to producers who are emphasising its more lighthearted guises without denaturing its identity.

They align brilliantly with a growing demand for fresh, buoyant, immediately approachable reds.

Fresh batch

While not limited to Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba, these DOCs offer a wealth of examples.

The freshest batch hails from 2023 and 2024, two challenging years. The former was marked by hail, heat and drought, the latter by incessant rainfall – though not cool temperature.

Quite surprisingly, they yielded a spate of charming, lithesome wines – particularly 2024.

The brightest even convey a joyfulness that contradicts what winegrowers must have felt when dealing with the vengeances of Mother Nature.

Alas, in others, the struggles of the vintages are all too apparent.

Both years required a lot of work in the vineyard and a strict selection. As such, it is difficult to find true quality at the lowest prices.

Grower-led value

Nonetheless, trusted producers like Produttori del Barbaresco, Massolino and GD Vajra still offer affordable worthwhile specimens.

What stands out is the intentionality behind the wines. At the Marrone estate, Langhe Nebbiolo is not simply a declassified Barolo.

Instead, winemaker Valentina Marrone set out specifically to produce one that represents her generation. The unoaked, ‘Che Vale’ bottling is chillable and ready to drink.

‘Making a Nebbiolo that isn’t aged in wood requires managing the vineyard differently,’ says Valentina. She also plays around with vinification to tease out the variety's perfume and flavour, as well as finer tannins.

Room for experimentation

That sense of experimentation pervades these non-DOCG Nebbiolo. They also provide rich hunting ground for the region’s up-and-comers.

Check out San Barnaba, Borgogno e Carbone and Vaira Aurelj. While the latter’s fuori zona (FZ) label is neither a Langhe Nebbiolo nor a Nebbiolo d’Alba, it is a 100% Nebbiolo simply designated as Vino Rosso.

The 2023 is the best wine I have had from this promising new estate.

‘We were brought up in Barolo and respect the area but as this comes from outside the zone, we wanted to do something different,’ explains Francesco Vaira, who uses a combination of whole clusters, whole berries and low sulphur to really bring out a perfumed fruit expression.

None of these should take away from the region’s more traditional, even historic labels.

Both Bruno Giacosa and Sandrone’s bottlings from Roero’s renowned Valmaggiore vineyard rise above the challenges of the 2023 vintage.

Similarly, Cavallotto and Giovanni Rosso’s Ester Canale are compelling representations of young vines in Barolo’s best sites.

Nebbiolo is finally having a moment – one that will hopefully have the longevity of its greatest examples.

Juicy and light-hearted Nebbiolo

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If 2022 was a paradox, Barbaresco’s 2023 vintage was a rollercoaster. The unexpected twists and switches left winegrowers as exhausted as perplexed. ‘Every month brought a different challenge’, recalls Roberta Ceretto.

The drought of 2022 carried over into 2023, and by March, the Tanaro River had almost dried out (see lead image). When the rain finally returned at the end of April, it didn’t let up until mid-June.

In another hairpin turn, summer arrived suddenly with soaring temperatures and barely another drop of rain until the end of August. And rather than droplets, the intense water bomb didn’t let up for two days. Temperatures somewhat abated afterward but remained above average throughout September.

While the wet spring meant peronospora (downy mildew) was a constant threat, wineries were quite happy to see water reserves replenished.

‘All the nutrition in the soil that the plant couldn't absorb in 2022 and 2021, it sucked up with the rain in 2023,’ explains Gaia Gaja.

Much more worrisome was the heatwave, bringing unprecedented temperature spikes in the second half of August. ‘It reached 42℃,” asserts Pierguido Busso, who noted issues not just with dehydration but also sunburn.

At Gaja, girapoggio – or horizontally planted rows – suffered the most damage. ‘Bunches on the west side had to be dropped,’ Gaia states. She admits that she didn’t like the wines immediately after fermentation. ‘I was concerned about unripe, green notes but they improved in the barrel’.

Besides using protective measures such as kaolin on the bunches and hail nets for shade, the estate recently started planting native trees in key vineyards like Sorì San Lorenzo. ‘Maybe in 10 years they will provide enough shade and we won’t need nets’, Gaia posits.

Unsurprisingly, the vines shut down in the summer of 2023, and unlike 2022, harvest ended up being quite late.

Deciding when to pick proved difficult. ‘The grapes went from green to overripe quickly’, says David Fletcher, adding that southern exposures struggled the most. At Poderi Colla, Federica Colla describes the difficult harvest: ‘We had to make three passages in the same vineyard as bunches ripened at different times’.

End of an era

Choosing a favourite at Produttori del Barbaresco is like splitting hairs. All nine bottlings are cellarworthy, with clearly defined personalities.

Perhaps the most surprising this year was the Montefico, which showed more vigour than usual without sacrificing its signature mineral nuance.

My tasting at this historic cooperative was bittersweet, as it was the last with Aldo Vacca: after more than 30 years as managing director, he is retiring.

Besides being a steadfast leader at the winery, he was a tireless ambassador for Barbaresco, and I am personally indebted to him for much of what I have learned about the region.

Vacca leaves big shoes to fill, but his long-time right-hand, Luca Cravanzola has stepped confidently into the position – yet another changing of the guard that is shaping Barbaresco’s bright future.

The vintage comparison

After skipping 2022 altogether, Sottimano returns with a complete lineup of single-MGA bottlings. ‘2023 is 10 steps beyond 2022,’ declares Andrea Sottimano.

Conversely, Lena Oddero at Luigi Oddero favours 2022, referring to the 2023 Barbaresco as ‘Nebbiolino’ – little Nebbiolo.

‘The wines are ripe but not structured’, adds the estate’s winemaker, Francesco Versio. He describes 2023 as fresher and more vertical than 2022, because lower potassium levels resulted in more stable acidities.

Indeed, the 2023s tend to be markedly pale in colour, midweight and delicate in structure. Yet they are charming and balanced in their proportions, with ripe but not rich or confected flavours.

Some veer towards Langhe Nebbiolo in style, but with a bit more heft. My preference is for those wines not weighed down by overt wood, and I am pleased to see fewer faulty wines than in 2022.

Barbaresco: Top value picks

Bosio, Boschi dei Signori, Barbaresco 2023

When you have a midweek craving for Barbaresco, Boschi dei Signori offers an accessibly priced example.

Cà del Baio, Barbaresco Asili 2023

From one of Barbaresco’s most prestigious MGAs, Cà del Baio’s represents an excellent price-quality rapport.

Marchesi di Barolo, Barbaresco Serragrilli 2023

This pulls off both ripeness and restraint in one elegant, ready to drink package.

Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco 2022

One of the best deals in Barbaresco year after year, with the 2022 no exception.

Massimo Rivetti, Barbaresco 2022

Not just well priced, this Barbaresco is packed with flavour – and certified organic to boot.

Barbaresco 2023: A commune by commune analysis

My wine of the vintage

Which Barbaresco to drink when?

Barbaresco releases: Tasted & rated

92 points and under

Barbaresco Riserva 2021

This year also marks the release of the 2021 vintage of Barbaresco Riserva, and the 30 or so wines I tasted underscore the great success of this highly touted vintage.

Along with Marchesi di Grésy’s delicious duo from Martinenga, Rizzi’s elegantly restrained Vigna Boito and Vietti’s perfumed Rabajà came out on top in blind tastings. These can all be tucked away and enjoyed leisurely over the next 15-plus years.

Other special mentions go to Montaribaldi, whose first-ever Marcarini bottling marks the estate’s foray into the Riserva category. Similarly, the up-and-coming Piercarlo Culasso estate has upgraded its single-parcel Faset label as of the 2021 vintage.

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As notoriously difficult as Italian wine is to decipher, the term ‘Riserva’ seems straightforward – it’s widely, and simply, interpreted as ‘better’.

Intrinsic to the history of Italian wine, Riserva is deeply entrenched in the country’s psyche.

As Andrea Farinetti (pictured, below), owner of Borgogno in Barolo, says: ‘It means something rare, limited and set-aside because it’s unique.’

Equally, cautions Brunello di Montalcino producer Biondi-Santi CEO Giampiero Bertolini: ‘Whether this is the case or not is another question.’

The term is also tied to a legal definition controlled by both EU and Italian wine law, which stipulates longer ageing prior to release compared to non-Riserva counterparts (often referred to as annata).

This translates to a minimum total ageing of two years for reds and one for whites.

Convolutions ensue, because exact regulations differ from one denomination to the next.

Mixed messages

The rationale behind the Riserva classification is sound – that the best wines should endure and benefit from extended refinement.

By tradition, rather than ordinance, Riservas have typically corresponded to a special selection, whether it be from old vines, choice vineyard plots or superior barrels singled out during ageing for their greater concentration and structure.

Among Italy’s iconic examples, Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Barolo Riserva, Bruno Giacosa’s ‘red label’ Barolo and Barbaresco Riservas, and Biondi-Santi’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva were historically made only in vintages deemed of the highest quality by the respective estates.

And they still are today. ‘It is very important that the difference between an annata wine and the Riserva is clearly perceivable in sensorial terms as well as in the cultivation and making of the wine,’ Bertolini explains. ‘It can’t just be a wine with longer maturation.’

But theory and practice aren’t always aligned.

At its best, Riserva encompasses some of Italy’s greatest wines, yet the category equally includes its share of disappointing, lacklustre examples.

‘Wines that weren’t selling, that were also not particularly fine, became Riserva just because of the fact they remained in storage,’ says Marchesi Frescobaldi’s president Lamberto Frescobaldi.

Superstar Piedmont consultant Gian Luca Colombo bemoans the tendency of some producers to release a Riserva every year. ‘It misses the meaning of the very concept of Riserva,’ he states.

At Cupano in Montalcino, Tuscany, Andrea Polidoro is even more disillusioned: ‘It is the only option for producers to double the price for the same wine.’

Quality sweet spot

Coming under such criticism, Riserva is faced with an inevitable reckoning.

Eroding its once-exalted status, the denominations of Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in Tuscany have both introduced a higher tier: respectively, Gran Selezione and Pieve, relegating Riserva to the middle rung of the quality pyramid (above annata) of these DOCGs.

In Chianti Classico, many wineries argue, conversely, that Gran Selezione has given Riserva a new lease of life.

‘Our historic clientele, as well as new enthusiasts, continue to seek out the Riserva,’ asserts Castello di Monsanto’s Laura Bianchi (pictured, above), who identifies the desirable combination of immediate accessibility with cellaring capacity, as well as an excellent price-quality ratio.

Indeed, Chianti Classico’s Riservas offer a sweet spot for savvy, budget-conscious cellaring.

Nevertheless, the category is somewhat blurred as several of the denomination’s most prominent wineries, including Castell’in Villa and San Giusto a Rentennano, continue to bottle their top Chianti Classico as Riserva rather than Gran Selezione.

Place and time

New categories are indicative of a general evolution in Italian wine labelling.

Most prominent in this regard is the rise of UGAs – geographical subdivisions within an existing denomination.

The trend underscores a shift of emphasis towards identifying a more specific place of origin. In Piedmont, both Barolo and Barbaresco have well-entrenched systems of this type.

Sixth-generation Davide Abbona at Marchesi di Barolo distinguishes these bottlings with respect to Riserva. ‘They are two different yet complementary interpretations within the same denomination,’ he says.

The idea behind UGAs is to highlight diversity of territory at the regional level, whereas Riserva is typically an individual estate’s stylistic expression linked to time. ‘It requires patience and attention to reach its maximum expression,’ Abbona says of the latter.

Crucially, UGAs aren’t an indication of a higher level of quality, although some estates do choose to bottle their top site’s wine as a Riserva; essentially one denomination or categorisation reinforcing the other.

Expanded offerings

In Tuscany, Montalcino has resisted carving up its territory into smaller official sub-zones.

Nevertheless, it has seen a boom in site-specific Brunello, such as Cortonesi’s La Mannella and Poggiarelli bottlings, or San Polo’s Podernovi.

This route offers an opportunity for wineries to expand their offerings beyond Riserva, as well as another channel for those who have misgivings about it.

‘It makes sense for historical wineries to make a Riserva, but for a young winery it is hard to speak about tradition,’ says up-and-comer Tommaso Squarcia at Castello Tricerchi.

He favours the single-vineyard approach ‘because you can justify making the wine every year’.

The two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

Frescobaldi-owned estate CastelGiocondo’s Ripe al Convento is among the Brunello Riserva that come from a single site. ‘Abroad, the indication of the vineyard is more important than the term Riserva,’ asserts Lamberto Frescobaldi.

In Italy, however, he notes that having both elements in the name reinforces the prestige of a wine such as Brunello.

Giles Burke-Gaffney, fine wine director at London-based merchant Justerini & Brooks, echoes Frescobaldi’s sentiments: ‘The term Riserva resonates very little with our customers.’

He points instead to region, commune, producer and vintage all having more significant influences on purchasing decisions.

For Winetraders UK owner Michael Palij MW, the allure depends on the specific denomination. ‘I have never seen any demand for Riserva outside Chianti Classico, Brunello and Barolo,’ he asserts. ‘Taurasi? Even Amarone? Not a chance!’

Level of achievement

But it isn’t all bad news for Riserva. At Berry Bros & Rudd, Barbara Drew MW identifies the sway of brand loyalty.

‘Passionate fans of a particular producer will generally buy that producer’s Riserva wines along with the rest of their range,’ she says, adding that they’ll happily pay the premium to do so.

Herein lies the crux of the matter.

A Riserva is only as reliable as the producer that makes it. Above all, for a Riserva to be truly relevant, it must embody the spirit, not just the letter, of the law.

Those that do may find their way to the upper echelons of Italian wine; however, they don’t stand alone at the top.

Rather, they are joined by UGA and single-vineyard bottlings that eschew the designation, as well as the more broadly defined IGT category, the best of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione and the like.

True to Italian form, it’s complex to say the least.

The Morris pick: Four definitive Italian Riserva wines

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Barolo’s latest Riserva releases hail from the warm and docile 2020 vintage.

Like their annata counterparts, the wines exude a supple graciousness: even when they are backed with greater structure, the tannins generally remain sumptuous and velvety.

Overall, I found immediate harmony and instant enjoyment. Most should show their best over the next 10 to 15 years, doling out their generous pleasures steadily throughout this window. The choice is personal, of course, whether you prefer youthful charm or tertiary intricacies.

Most gratifying of all is the sense of intention behind these wines in 2020. While the Riserva category has become somewhat diluted throughout Italy, Barolo still manages to convey its original intent.

And even in this more approachable vintage, top bottlings like Bruno Giacosa’s Vigna Le Rocche Falletto, Massolino’s Vignarionda, and Palladino’s San Berardino encapsulate longevity and completeness.

With a trio of new Riserva, the historic Borgogno estate embraces the prevailing approach, which highlights single MGAs. Specifically, they are made from old-vine plots in Annunziata, Cannubi and Liste. The latter gets my top vote in 2020.

Standing the test of time

Beyond the 2020s, there are several late-release Riservas worth seeking out.

Always a year behind, Cavallotto proposes an excellent ageworthy duo from 2019 with the Vignolo and Vigna San Giuseppe bottlings.

From the same vintage, Pecchenino comes out with its first Riserva since 2011.

‘Riserva is not a shortcut to raise prices,’ declares Giacomo Conterno at Aldo Conterno. ‘Instead, it must be a flagship that evokes place – a message in a bottle.’

Some wineries, including Aldo Conterno, Parusso and Vite Colte, choose to wait a full 10 years from harvest before releasing their Riserva, and these latest offerings revisit the exceptional 2016 vintage.

Aldo Conterno’s 2016 Gran Bussia is not an inexpensive missive to say the least, but it is certainly a Riserva that will stand the test of time.

Which Riserva to drink when?

Barolo Riserva 2020: Tasted & rated

In vintage order, highest score first

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Barolo’s best value in 2022 is found among its blends.

Whether a region-wide or a village blend (as opposed to the single-MGA and even single-vineyard bottlings), these so-called ‘classic’ Barolos represent a sweet spot for the vintage.

The majority of wines in 2022 are round in shape with harmonising acidity and well managed tannins, and less complexity than in the best years.

This more approachable style works to the advantage of those after well priced Barolo, with a number of well performing wines to highlight below.

Barolo 2022's top value picks

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When I visited Barolo in early May of 2022, scrawny plants on dusty, arid soil were barely noticeable amid the equally scraggly cover crop.

By the end of the season, many vines hadn’t even reached the top of the trellis, which is almost inconceivable for the notoriously vigorous Nebbiolo.

Drought reached hyperbolic levels and the summer heat was relentless. For a region that is well versed in dealing with rain, the severe lack of it was disconcerting.

‘It forced me to rethink my farming,’ recalls Gianluca Colombo, who abandoned the region’s traditional viticultural practices and adopted the farming approaches of more southern, Mediterranean climes.

‘2022 was an exception in the worst possible way,’ says Carlotta Rinaldi. Yet the vines’ resilience was astounding: ‘From the beginning, they tried to preserve energy and limit production’, she continues.

Tools in the armoury

Drawing on lessons learned in vintages such as 2003, 2007 and 2017, green harvesting was minimal at most. Likewise, many estates avoided de-leafing and hedging, and allowed lateral shoots to grow for additional shade.

‘We left the vines in peace’, concludes Chiara Boschis.

Beyond managing the canopy to shade the grapes, producers such as Poderi e Cantine Oddero and Brovia applied kaolin (a powdery white clay) to act as a natural sunscreen for the bunches.

Anti-hail nets were also credited with curbing sunburn, providing much-needed shade. Paolo Scavino launched the first trials with automated nets developed specifically for sun protection.

Among the few estates with access to water, the family also experimented with irrigation since special permission had been granted for emergency use; a hot and divisive topic to say the least.

And in many cases, inter-row cover crops were left in situ, helping to prevent the soils from losing precious moisture, and to keep the ground as cool as possible.

Yet, inevitably, vines shut down due to heat stress in 2022, particularly those on sandier soils. ‘The heat and drought actually slowed down phenolic ripening, but not sugar levels,’ notes Alberto Cordero di Montezemolo.

Nevertheless, harvest was still early across the board – while some picked long before the rain which arrived at the end of September, others, including Alan Maley at Margherita Otto waited.

‘Those days of rain made all the difference. It was like putting gas in the car.’ Maley also noted a reduction in potential alcohol from 15.2% before to 14.2% after.

Throwing out the rule book

Yields were down anywhere from 20% to 45% but grapes were healthy. Despite small, concentrated berries with thick skins, tannin ripeness was a niggling concern.

The challenge, therefore, was to fine-tune the concentration and avoid over- or under-extraction.

‘It made it difficult to colour inside the lines’, describes Giacomo Conterno.

So again, wineries threw out the rules they were weaned on. Lower fermentation temperatures, gentler pump overs, shorter time on the skins, and avoiding submerged cap macerations were some of the ways winemakers sought to achieve balance.

Several reduced the time in wood, too, in order ‘to preserve freshness’, as Colombo puts it.

As extreme as the 2022 vintage in Barolo was, this does not translate into the wines and I am pleasantly surprised by their fragrance and fruit expression.

Heterogenous in quality, some veer towards confection, though are rarely stewed. Those that fall short are washed out and lacking through the mid-palate.

Conversely, the best wines defy the vintage without disassociating from it, offering depth and definition.

The majority of wines are round in body with harmonising rather than bracing acidity. The tannins are well managed, if less complex and intricate than in great years. And when a bit of dryness does poke through, I appreciate the reminder that I am drinking Nebbiolo!

‘We worried they would be heavy and cloying, but they have much more spunk than we expected,’ remarks Alessandro Olocco at Palladino.

Many found it impossible to single out a comparable vintage, though 2020 was repeatedly cited in terms of the wines’ generous and open nature. ‘There is richness, power and warmth – but not like 2003, which is already dead,’ notes Silvia Altare.

Martina Fiorino at Bruna Grimaldi describes the tannins in 2022 as ‘more resolved and integrated’, compared to 2017.

To blend or not to blend

While 2022 isn’t a vintage to seek out definitive site-specific examples, it does present a compelling case for the time-honoured tradition of blending. But the underlying rationale is different from the cooler climate of yesteryear.

‘In hot years, the vineyards start to resemble one another’, asserts Fabio Alessandria at GB Burlotto. As such, he opted to forego his single-MGA bottlings to produce just one Barolo that incorporates all.

‘Splitting it into three labels would have left too little wine,’ adds Cordero di Montezemolo, explaining that they excluded lots that didn’t meet their usual high standards.

‘Not every vintage is suited for expressing the individual MGAs,’ he continues, ‘but that does not mean the vintage is bad or of lower quality.’

In general, the ‘classic’ Barolos represent a sweet spot for the vintage. Bartolo Mascarello’s remains the standard-bearer but I was also duly impressed with Chiara Boschis’ Via Nuova, Margherita Otto, Pio Cesare and Vietti among others.

There are many successes among the MGA bottlings too. Both Lorenzo Scavino at Azelia and Milena Viara at GD Vajra attribute the quality of theirs in 2022 to the old vines: ‘Even in a difficult vintage, they still speak of where they are from,’ Vaira argues.

My wine of the vintage

2022 vintage conclusions

In 2022 there are plenty of very good wines, but few truly outstanding and distinctive ones. The best convey a visceral connection to the against-all odds vintage.

Most are ready or nearly ready to drink, with an ageing potential between 10 to 12 years. Some will be even longer lived, but only a very few bottles will require extended cellaring.

At the risk of distracting from 2022, my recommendations also include several late-release 2021s.

Missing out on these would be a shame. Topping my list is Guido Porro’s Vignarionda MGA, with the estate’s Vigna Lazzairasco making for a shrewd sidestep.

Also pulling a solid one-two punch is Aurelio Settimo with the striking Rocche dell'Annunziata MGA and excellent value classic Barolo.

Beyond these, Marcarini’s Brunate is a testament to this prestigious MGA, and Le Strette’s Bergera-Pezzole MGA gives insight into Novello beyond Ravera.

I just hope your appetite – or rather thirst – for Barolo in all its variations is as big as mine!

Barolo 2022: A commune by commune analysis

Barolo 2022: Tasted & rated

Score table: 94 points and under

Barolo 2021 late releases

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There is a group of DOC/Gs in the far northeast corner of Piedmont producing Nebbiolo wines against the dramatic backdrop of the Alps.

Gattinara and Ghemme (both DOCGs) are the best known, while Bramaterra along with the microscopic Lessona, Sizzano, Boca and Fara are the others.

Nebbiolo has been grown here for centuries, but in the sub-alpine climate with extreme temperature variations which slow down the vegetative cycle, the variety often struggled to get to full ripeness.

The wines were typically lean, with nervy acidity and bone-dry tannins; intense but rigid.

With time, they acquired complex tertiary aromas – it’s no coincidence that the production regulations impose extended wood and bottle ageing – but they were wines of another era.

The wines of today, meanwhile, present a very different profile. They drink earlier than in the past, with immediate fruit, ripe tannins, and the full spectrum of the wonderful floral-herb-spice aromas of Nebbiolo.

Despite the extra ripeness, they maintain the tangy mineral quality, the acidity, and the moderate alcohol which are all key notes of the terroir.

In an age when 15% abv Barolo is becoming commonplace, these northern Nebbiolos typically reach 13-13.5%, and even in the hottest vintages will rarely go over 14% alcohol

What makes the difference is the climate. The combination of drier summers with increased solar radiation, higher average temperatures, and more frequent temperature peaks creates the risk of accelerated but uneven ripening and wines with lower acidity, unwieldy high alcohol and baked fruit aromas.

But it is not all negative. While some traditional growing areas are feeling the heat, others are enjoying the benefits of a changing climate

Federico Rinolfi, winemaker at the La Piemontina estate in Ghemme explains: ‘Climate zones in Piemonte are shifting north. We now have the meso-climate of the Langhe of the past.’

The result is a shorter vegetative cycle but better, earlier ripening.

‘Nebbiolo used to need more time to ripen’, says Rinolfi. ‘Historically, the harvest went on until late October, now we finish in September.’

It's all in the soil

Local climate variations are minimal, but soil differences are significant – they are one of the historical reasons for the division of an area with just a handful of hectares under vine into no fewer than seven sub-zones.

For instance, Gattinara is the only place in Piedmont, and probably in the world for that matter, where Nebbiolo grows on soils of volcanic origin. It’s a terroir which gives the wines a distinctive minerally twist.

Ghemme and Bramaterra, on the other hand, have glacial-alluvial soils with more clay, giving the wines a rounder, softer character, while the sandy soils of Lessona make for very fine textures and intense floral aromas.

If there is a downside to all this sub-division, it is the scale of production. aAccording to the latest official figures, Gattinara has 94ha of vineyard with a production of fewer than 500,000 bottles. Ghemme has 50ha; Bramaterra 41ha; and Lessona – where production is in effect concentrated in a single estate, just 21ha.

The consequence is that you might have to hunt around for a bottle – but your efforts will be repaid.

A taste of Alto Piemonte: Richard Baudains' top picks

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Barbera may never be as highly regarded as Nebbiolo (the grape that makes Barolo and Barbaresco), but in the Asti province of Piedmont it is the lifeblood of local vintners.

For the past five decades, winemakers here have laboured to improve both the quality and reputation of the grape, with the most ambitious and successful enterprise being the creation of the Nizza DOC – originally a subzone of Barbera d’Asti Superiore – in 2000.

Along with well defined boundaries, what makes the wines of Nizza stand out is that the production regulations stipulate low yields – lower even than for Barbaresco.

‘This means that you typically need an old vineyard that produces less quantity’, explains Stefano Chiarlo, director of the Nizza consorzio.

Compared with Barbera d’Asti, which originates from a much broader area, Stefano Gagliardo of Tenuta Garetto explains that: ‘Nizza tends to show a more consistent profile, with greater structure, density and capacity to evolve, expressing a deeper and more complete interpretation of the Barbera grape.’

Mosaic of soils

While Nizza is still in its adolescent stage, communal differences have emerged.

Gagliardo notes that sandy marl soils are typical in Agliano Terme; these tend to produce wines with ‘aromatic precision, freshness and energy’.

Nizza Monferrato, at the centre of the appellation, shows ‘greater diversity in soils and exposure’, resulting in wines that display greater stylistic differences.

The mosaic of soils from Castelnuovo Calcea combine calcareous marls, clays and sandy components.

Gagliardo says that, ‘the balance between these elements often determines whether a wine leans toward power or elegance'.

A matter of wood

While many Nizza producers formerly matured their wines in barrique for a spicier and more vigorous wine, that approach has largely changed.

At Frasca in Agliano Terme, winemaker Matteo Gerbi uses large oak casks of between 2,500 and 4,500 litres.

He says that these casks are, ‘functional in maturing the tannins and smoothing out the edges, without adding too many tertiary notes that are not in line with my idea of Nizza’.

At Marenco, Andrea Costa uses 500 litre French oak tonneaux for his Zana Riserva; among the most refined of all Nizza wines.

‘We thought this size was the optimum compromise for our Zana wine to fix the tannins and still grant the expression of the fruit,’ he says.

However, there are some Nizza producers that still vinify with smaller oak, most notably Prunotto.

Gianluca Torrengo, oenologist and estate director, explains that the estate’s Nizza Riserva ‘Costamiòle’ – named for the eponymous hill in Agliano Terme – was conceived in 1996 with the idea of ageing the wine in barrique.

‘And that vision remains central to its identity’, he says.

For the 2020 vintage, the wine was aged for approximately 12 months in new French barriques.

Torrengo views the role of barriques as contributing structure, complexity and textural depth, while at the same time preserving the freshness and character of Barbera and allowing the wine’s terroir to remain clearly expressed.

‘In short,’ he explains, ‘barriques for Costamiòle are not a stylistic choice dictated by fashion, but a coherent part of the wine’s history, interpreted today with greater sensitivity and precision.’

How does Nizza compare to Piedmont's other Barbera wines?

Noting the difference between a Barbera d’Asti (or even a Barbera d’Asti Superiore) and a Nizza, Torrengo explains that for the latter, yields are lower, ripening is more complete, and the regulations require longer ageing periods.

These are all factors that he believes provide for greater substance, balance and the ability to evolve over time.

‘While Barbera d’Asti is often defined by immediacy and approachability, Nizza aims for a more ambitious, terroir-driven interpretation, combining the natural energy of the variety with the structure of a serious, ageworthy red wine.’

While the most successful markets for Nizza have been Italy and northern Europe, the wine’s identity is not commonplace in other countries.

‘Unfortunately, it is a relatively young denomination and is not yet very well known’, admits Giovanna Garesio of the eponymous winery.

Chiarlo however, has witnessed impressive growth since 2016, when the 2014 Nizza DOCG wines were first released.

He says: ‘Since it was decided to use the Nizza appellation, starting from 30 producers with 30 labels accounting for less than 300,000 bottles sold, we now have more than 100 producers with more than 200 labels, with just over one million bottles sold, of which 60% are in 40 different markets.

'But there is still much more to do in order to create more confidence and familiarity among wine lovers.’

Tom's six Nizza wines to try:

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North Italy is a melting pot of cultures and landscapes. Flag-bearers for these northern regions include Barolo and Amarone, but there’s so much more to discover.

And with changes in winemaking and the impact of climate change, new opportunities are opening up for wines which previously languished in the background.

In an interview for Decanter with Tim Atkin MW all the way back in 2010, renowned winemaker Angelo Gaja declared that Italy’s future would lie with white wines.

But one grape variety he omitted to mention was Cortese, the most widely planted dry white variety in Gaja’s native Piedmont.

Let’s start there, therefore, and then look at six other exciting areas in northern Italian winemaking.

Gavi’s renewed ambition

Cortese’s finest expression is in the wines of Gavi and Gavi di Gavi, yet despite healthy sales in both the UK and USA, Gavi has not always been renowned for premium quality.

However, today’s warmer growing conditions combined with a greater belief in the area’s potential, and savvy marketing campaigns are changing all that, and the wines now are far better than they ever been before.

Alto Adige’s flagship white

Though not a native variety – and despite fierce competition – Pinot Bianco (aka Pinot Blanc/Weißburgunder) has become the standout white grape of the Alto Adige, with its magical combination of succulence, freshness and balance.

Versatility is key: whether producing excellent whites for youthful drinking and medium- to long-term ageing, or as the backbone of an increasing number of spectacular local blends, it is the default choice these days.

Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair and columnist Andrew Jefford agrees: ‘Nowhere else does Pinot Bianco like the Alto Adige!’

Sauvignon Blanc’s Collio renaissance

Sauvignon Blanc is a highly prized variety in neighbouring Friuli-Venezia Giulia, but the wines haven’t always lived up to their billing.

Rampant thiols (think passion fruit and cat’s pee) have too often obscured the strong sense of terroir typical in areas like the Collio with its distinctive ponca soils (mineral-rich marl and sandstone).

A less intrusive approach to winemaking favouring indigenous yeasts, slightly warmer fermentation temperatures, and careful use of large oak barrels is starting to have the desired effect and we are beginning to see more ripe, silky textures and salty, mineral notes in the finest examples of Collio Sauvignon.

Valpolicella’s fresh face

According to New Generation Valpolicella’s spokesman Piergiovanni Ferrarese of Villa Spinosa, one of the under-40s winemaker group’s main challenges is to lavish the same care and attention on the Valpolicella Superiore category that growers have previously saved for Amarone.

This frequently means dedicating individual vineyards to the production of Superiore, rather than creaming off the pick of the crop for the appassimento process, and using only freshly harvested grapes to make the wine.

Flying in the face of the success that the appassimento-based wines (Amarone and Ripasso) have brought the area, these wines focus on freshness and elegance – the two defining features of the best Valpolicella.

Schiava’s old vines

How gratifying to see a Santa Maddalena (and moreover, one with bottle age) reap a Platinum Medal at the DWWAs in 2025! The grape here is Schiava (aka Vernatsch), as it is for the Lago di Caldaro denomination which also claimed a Value Gold.

While many Schiava vineyards were pulled up in the 1980s to make way for white grapes, those that remain often have very old vines – some over a century old.

Could this much maligned local variety be about to challenge Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) as Alto Adige’s flagship red? Tastes change and sleek, light, aromatic reds are booming…

Nebbiolo’s Alpine alter ego

While we mainly associate the variety with Piedmont, the notion of Alpine Nebbiolo is gaining traction. Lombardy’s Valtellina remains an underrated and overlooked source of fragrant and elegant reds; the grape, known locally as Chiavennasca, offers the most Pinot Noir-like expression of the Nebbiolo variety.

Though fêted for Sforzato, which like Amarone relies on semi-dried grapes, representative examples from the lesser known denominations of Valtellina Superiore and Valtellina Rosso bring ethereal lightness, finesse and balance associated with Alpine reds to the party.

Add in spectacular, high altitude terraced vineyards with over 2,500 kilometres of dry stone walls and the mystery of why these delightful wines are not more highly sought after only deepens!

Asolo Prosecco’s Extra Bruts

Northern Italy’s most popular wine remains Prosecco. A lot of it is cheap fizz, bought and sold mainly on price, but Asolo Prosecco, for example, is really bucking that trend.

Many of them declare a vintage (versus Prosecco DOC, most of which is non-vintage) and the denomination is pioneering the Extra Brut category with between 0-9g/l of residual sugar – the driest category.

These Proseccos look and taste like the real deal, and growing numbers of estates are regularly achieving exemplary levels of quality. Tasting is believing and, as in Valtellina, the wines are living up to the promise of some outstanding vineyard scenery.

One feature unites these wines: they all share a tremendous sense of place. Great vineyards, attentive winemaking with minimal intervention and a return to the use of larger older, more neutral barrels for ageing are allowing wineries to concentrate on making their products stand out from the crowd.

It’s what makes Italian wine so exciting: its all-embracing diversity, once viewed as a source of confusion, has become its strength.

Get a taste of this year’s trends:

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Piedmont & northern Italy

The northern Italy shortlist for Wines of the Year 2025 was dominated by Barolo; I’ve only picked one however, despite such a strong showing, in order to ensure that other northerly winemaking regions are also represented.

Conterno’s Monfortino Riserva is an object of desire for Barolo lovers, and its lofty reputation is solidified by a perfect score from Michaela Morris, DWWA Regional Chair for Piedmont and author of our Barolo vintage report (see June 2025 issue).

Other high achievers of note this year include GB Burlotto’s epic Monvigliero Barolo 2021 (99 points), and a clutch of impeccable releases from Borgogno, Oddero and Bruno Giacosa; the latter’s Barbarescos were also very impressive, as you may expect from this benchmark producer.

But it is Paitin’s Sorì Paitin Vecchie Vigne Riserva 2020 that claims the spot as the top-scoring Barbaresco of the year – and one of our Wines of the Year. Elsewhere, in the northeast, Terlano’s I Primo 2019 blend is testament to the experience and dedication of winemaker Rudi Kofler.

Despite only having a handful of vintages under its belt – first vintage, 2011 – I Primo has entered the elite top echelon of Italian white wines. Across in Lombardy, Monte Rossa’s Cabochon is a powerful and concentrated Chardonnay-led Franciacorta sparkling which wowed our judges at a panel tasting held in late 2024 (see December 2024 issue).

Lastly, back over in Veneto, Bertani’s Amarone Classico 2015 effortlessly juxtaposes all of the depth and richness of Valpolicella’s flagship style with almost unbelievable levels of elegance.

Tuscany & southern Italy

Strong showings from Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri this year made the Tuscan selection for Wines of the Year very tough. Masseto 2006 received my first ever perfect score when I tasted it alongside other vintages at a rare tasting in November 2024, so naturally it had to be included.

Our regular Italy contributor and DWWA Regional Chair for Piedmont Michaela Morris was awestruck by the single-cask Poggio di Sotto Brunello Riserva 2019 – our joint top-scoring Brunello Riserva from the year’s releases – describing it as ‘a masterpiece of proportionality’.

Although we absolutely must recognise the 99pt Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino 2019 from Casanova di Neri, as well as the 98pt Riservas from Baricci, Biondi-Santi, Fuligni and Il Marroneto.

In the Maremma, coastal southern Tuscany, impressive results are being achieved at Le Pupille following a process of transition as Elisabetta Geppetti’s son Ettore Rizzi brings the winemaking in-house.

He’s taking over from the highly regarded consultant Luca D’Attoma, with whom he worked while he fine-tuned his own craft.

Ettore’s third vintage flying solo is crowned by an absolutely stunning 2022 Saffredi Toscana Rosso. Moving further south, in Sicily we reach Pietradolce’s Barbagalli vineyard on Etna.

For me, this is a bona-fide grand cru, with the consistency, complexity and wow-factor you might expect to find in the finest sites of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits or Piedmont’s Langhe, combining finesse and structure to great effect.

Our sole white selection this year comes from the island of Sardinia – Siddùra’s Maìa took the top accolade, by a significant margin, at our ‘Tuscany vs Sardinia’ Vermentino panel tasting early in the year (see April 2025 issue), exemplifying the quality inherent in the small DOCG of Vermentino di Gallura when done right.

Wines of the year 2025: Italy

Wines from Piedmont and northern Italy are listed first, then Tuscany and the south

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Umbria is the perfect winter escape: the only landlocked region in Central Italy, its quaint medieval villages acquire an enchanting aura when the air gets crisp while the sun keeps shining. A warming aroma of wood-fired delicacies often drifts through narrow alleys, preluding the cozy embrace of local trattorias and country houses.

While in the past this region was best-known for its whites, especially Orvieto, a bold red for chilly days has taken centre stage over the last two decades: Montefalco Sagrantino.

The red Sagrantino grape is almost exclusively grown within a five-township area centred on the picturesque town of Montefalco, in the heart of the region. Montefalco’s tidy, verdant hills mirror the backdrops of 15th century artworks by masters such as Benozzo Gozzoli and Perugino, still visible in the village church of San Francesco.

Yet Montefalco Sagrantino wines showcase intensity and heft rather than Renaissance-style serenity and poise. Almost extinct in the 1970s due to its hard-to-tame nature, the variety was rescued by the Caprai family of the namesake winery, who discovered that Sagrantino contains some of the highest levels of tannins and polyphenols of any grape anywhere in the world.

A rapid rise

Marco Caprai began conducting clonal selection, improved canopy management, and introduced ageing in small oak barrels, paving the way for the achievement of DOCG status for Sagrantino di Montefalco in 1992 (the name changed to Montefalco Sagrantino in 2009) – and its subsequent revival.

As the demand for brooding, powerful reds boomed from the late 1990s onwards, total plantings soared from only 66 hectares at the moment of the DOCG’s birth to over 380 in 2022 [according to Consorzio vini Montefalco], currently scattered among 65 small- to medium-size producers.

Innovative approaches

Most Sagrantino di Montefalco are deep-coloured, brimming with sweet red and black fruits, spice, chocolate, and distinctive balsamic or botanical touches.

With their high alcohol, noteworthy mid-palate concentration and dusty tannins requiring several years to soften, they convey a sense of warmth and exuberance – sometimes at the expense of finesse and detail.

Yet several producers are striving to achieve greater balance and finesse, often by adopting innovative approaches.

‘Sagrantino can be a beauty and a beast at once’, says Giampaolo Tabarrini, a cult vintner who crafts classically concentrated yet weightless expressions. Tabarrini believes high alcohol from late harvesting is unavoidable in order to obtain full tannic maturity.

Nonetheless, he collaborated with the oenology university of Perugia to create a custom fermentation tank that allows for extremely long and gentle macerations, contributing to an uncanny sense of elegance.

Marco Caprai, meanwhile, has worked together with globetrotting winemaking superstar Michel Rolland to conceive the methode integrale, consisting of a whole-berry fermentation in French oak barrels, also aimed at obtaining a softer texture.

Other producers rely on more conventional winemaking to emphasise the grape’s transparency of terroir. Filippo Antonelli, produces two single-vineyard Sagrantino with very distinct personalities; Chiusa di Pannone and Molino dell’Attone.

The latter represents an especially contemporary take: the schistous, east-oriented parcel shapes a wine that showcases noteworthy refinement and approachability without giving up on Sagrantino’s signature power.

Antonelli says: ‘In Montefalco, there has long been a tendency to make a single super-selection of Sagrantino. Instead, we should focus more on single-vineyard expressions, as different soils and expositions result in diverging profiles.’

A must-have in any serious cellar

Despite remarkable efforts to offer earlier-drinking styles, Sagrantino di Montefalco remains one of Italy’s most cellar-worthy reds.

Between eight and 15 years from its release is enough time for the tannins to soften without totally losing their enticing gripping effect. At this stage, a mix of earthy flavours and rich fruit makes it a perfect match for ground game or red meats seasoned with mushrooms or truffles in a typically Umbrian fashion.

Yet the best Sagrantino di Montefalco can hold up for even longer, entering the vini da meditazione category along with the likes of Amarone, as the high polyphenol content keeps the structure intact while the edges become rounder.

Although finding older vintages outside of cellar shops and a few top-tier restaurants in Italy can be challenging, late-release versions are increasingly widespread. Almost all producers wait longer than the 33 months mandated by the appellation’s regulations, with most examples currently on the market belonging to the 2019 and 2020 vintages.

A few wineries go even further: the 2018 Carapace Lunga Attesa by Tenute Lunelli – a Montefalco estate run by the namesake family of Ferrari Trento fame – is a prime example of ready-to-drink, fireside Sagrantino with a lovely balance between brightness and slowly rising tertiary complexity.

Beyond Sagrantino

Sagrantino isn’t the only key player in Montefalco: roughly two thirds of the appellation’s total production (roughly 35% of Umbria’s total output) are still represented by Montefalco Rosso, the area’s historical Sangiovese-based red with dollops of Sagrantino and other varieties.

While most Montefalco Rosso are simple and meant to offer an affordable alternative to Sagrantino, top-notch renditions like the 2023 Tenute Lunelli Ziggurat and the 2021 Tenuta Bellafonte Maestà Quattro Chiavi Riserva show greater breadth and depth, giving Sangiovese from the coveted Tuscany region a run for their money.

The white Trebbiano Spoletino variety is also on the rise. Tabarrini’s oak-aged 2023 Adarmando and Antonelli’s amphora-aged 2023 Vigna Tonda are just two of several high quality expressions, reflecting the grape’s noteworthy potential, both in terms of complexity and versatility.

As Antonelli says, ‘few areas in Italy excel with both white and reds’ – a testament to Montefalco’s evolving wine landscape.

Cosy up to these six Montefalco Sangrantino:

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Of all the many thousands of wines tasted by Decanter every year, only a small handful ever gain the very highest score of 100.

This year, in fact, a mere 30 wines (tasted between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025) gained that coveted triple-digit score. In the immortal words of Cilla Black, let’s look at what they are and where they come from.

Top-scorers by country

As two countries that feature heavily both online and in print, the bulk of this year’s top-scoring wines came from France and the US.

France had the higher number of 100-point scores by far – 15 wines (50%) versus 12 (40%) from the US – while Italy with two 100-point wines and Australia with just one made up the difference.

Top-scorers by region

Drilling down into the regions things get a little more interesting. We can see that the French wines are split among several regions, with Bordeaux taking the largest share of 100-point wines (nine wines overall or 30% of the total).

However, the largest single region for top scores was California, with 11 wines (36.7%) that received a 100-point score.

The Rhône Valley was the third most-awarded region with five (16.7%) of the top scores, while Western Australia, Burgundy, Oregon, Tuscany and Piedmont all picked up one perfect score apiece.

Top-scorers by appellation

The most-awarded appellation overall was the Napa Valley, which had 10 wines with a 100-point score (mostly from one standout vintage, which was also the case with many of the Bordeaux wines as we’ll explore below).

There were three wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape as the second highly rated appellation – though probably not wines you would expect – followed by Cornas, Pauillac, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol and St-Emilion which all had two 100-point scores this past year.

The remaining appellations were Barolo, La Tâche, Margaret River, Margaux, Sonoma County, Toscana, and Willamette Valley with one 100-point wine apiece.

And now let’s briefly look at those wines.

France

Bordeaux

Many of the vintage reports published this year have focused on the very difficult 2024 vintage, which has not yielded many exceptional wines overall.

However, Bordeaux editor Georgie Hindle also reviewed the recently bottled and shipped 2022 vintage from Bordeaux which was a different story altogether.

In her report published in March, she said of the vintage: ‘The 2022s have emerged as wines out to please. As a group they are highly charged and powerful with an impressive amount of fruit, tannins and alcohol, yet they are refined and balanced with a sense of classicism.’

She gave six wines a score of 100-points – three each from the left and right banks.

She also gave a perfect score to the ‘monumental’ 2016 vintage of Château Latour, finally released from the estate’s cellars this spring.

Two wines from the 2015 vintage, Château Margaux and Château Lafleur confirmed in their majesty 10 years on.

Rhône Valley

Matt Walls covers the Rhône extensively for Decanter and this February he wrote about an especially memorable tasting at Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which yielded three 100-point wines.

These were not the estate’s reds though – but rather its ‘masterpiece’ of a white wine, the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes.

Tasted while scenes from Netflix’s Drops of God adaptation were filmed in the background, Walls was thoroughly seduced by what he calls ‘one of France’s greatest Mediterranean whites’, with many high scores given including three digits for three vintages: 2020, 2014 and 1988.

There was room for a couple of top-scoring reds though, notably two 2010 Cornas from Domaine Clape and Vincent Paris, which are among Walls’s favourite vintages from that appellation to drink now.

Burgundy

For a region with such a sterling reputation, there was just one wine that claimed a ‘perfect’ score in 2025. Maybe the standards of expectation from the Côte d’Or are that much higher?

Nonetheless, the unsurprising top-scorer was from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, with the domaine’s La Tâche 2022 getting the seal of approval from Charles Curtis MW during his in-bottle tasting this spring.

US

Napa Valley

Like Bordeaux, the bulk of top scores for Napa Valley this year came from the 2022 vintage, which was also not necessarily a straightforward growing season but from which some true gems have emerged.

Jonathan Cristaldi wrote in his report: ‘Compared to more structured, long-ageing vintages such as 2021 or 2019, the 2022s are approachable, plush and opulent.

‘Tannin structure varies, with some wines showcasing excellent granular grip and ageing potential while others exhibit a smoother, more fruit-driven profile that leans toward early drinking.’

Cristaldi ultimately gave six wines from the 2022 vintage 100 points, alongside another four from the 2021 – giving Napa its rather awesome tally of 10 top-scores this year.

Sonoma and Willamette Valley

The only US wines breaking Napa’s stranglehold on the crown were a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay duo.

In her report on the wines from the Sonoma Coast in 2022 (there’s that vintage again), Ana Carolina Quintela gave 100-points to the Cuvée Elizabeth Pinot Noir from Occidental. A true ‘wow-moment wine’ she noted.

And our North America editor, Clive Pursehouse, awarded his very first 100-point wine to the ‘captivating’ Bethel Heights’ The High Wire Chardonnay 2023 from Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Best of the rest

Italy

A rather diplomatic split of one 100-point score each for Italy’s premier regions of Piedmont and Tuscany this year.

Michaela Morris dished out a top-score to Giacomo Conterno’s Montfortino Riserva 2019 in her review of that newly-released batch of wines.

And Italy editor, James Button, couldn’t help but give 100-points to the ‘impeccably harmonious and long-lived’ 2006 Masseto during a vertical of the Super Tuscan at the start of the year.

Australia

And to wrap things up, while reviewing the wines being released through La Place de Bordeaux this autumn, Hindle gave top marks to the Cloudburst Chardonnay from Margaret River.

She wrote: ‘Round, utterly moreish from the first sip – this is engaging, mouthwatering, alive and so utterly enjoyable. I’d never tire of drinking this wine.’

Decanter’s 100-point wines of 2025:

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‘This is my first 100-point wine after nearly 4,000 in my three years at Decanter’

Few names in Barolo make aficionados’ hearts flutter faster than that of Bussia. Among the earliest of the region’s subdistricts to be identified on wine labels, this year’s 2021 vintage release marks the 60th anniversary of the very first Bussia bottling – from the esteemed Prunotto estate.

Alfredo Prunotto established the estate in 1922 upon buying the ‘Ai Vini delle Langhe’ cooperative, which was on the brink of collapse. He and his wife ran the company until retiring in 1956.

As their children showed no interest in taking over, they sold it to their young winemaker friend – the legendary Beppe Colla.

Having previously worked for the largest grape purchasers in the Langhe, Colla knew exactly where to source the best fruit for his wines.

He was also inspired by his travels to Burgundy: while Barolo was traditionally a blend from vineyards in different locations, Colla introduced a Burgundian model, making single-site wines and labelling them as such.

His approach was revolutionary (and criticised) at the time but eventually became widely adopted, paving the way for the huge diversity of site-specific Barolo we see today. Among the sites Colla chose, Bussia was identified for the quality of its tannins.

Notoriously, the Barolo of Colla’s era required years to soften. ‘With a tendency to sweetness, they [Bussia’s tannins] are very silky almost from the beginning of the wine’s life in bottle,’ notes Gianluca Torrengo, Prunotto’s oenologist since 1999.

‘Beppe considered that accessibility of tannins an added value because it meant not having to wait as long.’

Bussia back then was much smaller than the official MGA of today. It corresponded to the area of Bussia Soprana – an amphitheatre that encompasses the vineyards of Gabutti, Colonnello, Cicala and Romirasco (the latter three made famous by Aldo Conterno) – as well as the neighbouring hill which includes Dardi and Mondoca.

However, when Barolo’s MGAs were legally defined in 2010, Bussia was demarcated as a vast area – approximately 4km as the crow flies.

It now extends all the way from the village of Monforte d’Alba to Castiglione Falletto’s southernmost MGAs of Pugnane and Mariondino; an enlargement that Torrengo explains as bureaucratic, ‘because the name Bussia is also used for a river, a road, a central hamlet and an upper hamlet.’

The next chapter

After managing its distribution since 1989, Antinori acquired Prunotto in 1994. Colla remained at the estate until the transition to Antinori was complete.

Under the guidance of Antinori’s head of winemaking, Renzo Cotarella, the company immediately began buying vineyards, so as not to rely on purchasing fruit.

The first sites purchased were located in Bussia, and today the estate boasts a total of eight hectares of south- to southwest-facing plots in the original nucleus of the MGA.

Piero Antinori’s eldest daughter, Albiera – now president of Antinori – was in her mid-20s when she was tasked with managing the estate. Coming from Tuscany, she recalls that ‘those first few years, we were simply trying to understand’.

Her aim was to walk the tightrope between respecting local tradition and moving forward. ‘We looked for wines that didn’t need 40 years before being drinkable, with a colour that was red rather than rosé.’

This period corresponded with a time when many in the region, including Antinori, were experimenting with everything from more extractive macerations to the use of new French oak barriques.

‘Whether this went too far, I don’t know’, Albiera muses.

A taste of time

Earlier this year, Albiera hosted a tasting of Prunotto’s Bussia at the estate. Spanning six decades, it charted the broader evolution of Barolo – stylistic trends were palpable in the glass.

Although the inaugural 1961 was absent, the lineup did include the exceptional 1978 and almost as outstanding 1985 vintages from Colla’s tenure. Both were thrilling relics of a bygone era.

I couldn’t help being in awe of the 1978. Still vibrant and steely at almost 50 years old, it was impossible to fathom it in its youth. ‘It must have been like drinking lemonade,’ Albiera remarked to me.

The 1978 was also the only Riserva in the roster: until 1983, the Colla family declared almost all their single-site wines as such.

The wines from 1996, 2004 and 2008 represented a transitional phase. Deeper in hue with more volume and bulk, they are ageing less gracefully than the older examples.

While not lacking in flashy charm, the dense, extracted, oak-tinged 2004 was the most illustrative of these extremes, whereas the 2008 suggested an easing up.

Looking ahead

The final three vintages poured – 2016, 2019 and 2021 – demonstrated the direction that Antinori has taken Prunotto after much internal reflection.

In terms of winemaking, extractions are now much gentler, and macerations relatively short (approximately 10 days). French oak is still preferred but the casks are medium to large in size (25 to 75 hectolitres).

‘The last 10 years signify a turning point,’ asserted Cotarella, who was candid about his learning curve with Nebbiolo. ‘Now we are looking to bring depth of flavour without weighing the wine down.’

Indeed, the trio was united by a toned, balletic frame rather than body-builder muscles.

The 2016 struck me as somewhat naïve, though its purity and finesse of tannins were undeniable. Both 2019 and 2021 amplified these attributes, showing greater sophistication and intricacy, particularly in the former.

It remains to be seen if these recent releases will endure as long as their predecessors from the 1970s and 1980s. However, they are clearly poised to offer immense drinking pleasure throughout the arc of their evolution – something that couldn’t necessarily be said about the Barolo of yesteryear.

Prunotto’s Bussia: Tasting back in time

Below, Michaela picks out her six top wines from a tasting which spanned six decades of Prunotto’s Bussia label

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Southwest of Alba toward Barolo lies Roddi, a tiny village known for The Path of Poetry and Truffle Dog University, where canines train to hunt the local white and black gold.

Barolo, poetry, and truffles share more than proximity – each takes time to compose and even more to comprehend.

Surrounded by vino, verse and funghi, I explored a zone of long-established rules and regency. Maybe the best time to start a Barolo collection was 20 years ago with 19th century red wine blue bloods like Fontanafredda, Marchesi di Barolo and Vietti, but what if you could be an early adopter of the next-wave classics rising next door?

The following aren’t legacy estates with showpiece cantinas – they’re bootstrapped farmers with dirt under their nails and, more importantly, brilliant terroir underfoot. This is Barolo’s real wealth.

These emerging artisans occupy less than 1% of the planted area, but their wines brim with Piedmont’s coveted somewhereness that drives prices and promotes legends.

Roccheviberti

The inevitable latecomer

Claudio Viberti’s father farmed Nebbiolo at the precipice of ‘rocche’, sheer white limestone cliffs between Monforte and Barolo, yet sold the fruit and never bottled under the Viberti name. The family strong-armed a young Claudio into oenology school, but he pursued another path.

In 2002, the land beckoned and the son returned. By then in his early 40s, it took a few years to get his bearings. ‘About five years ago,’ says Claudio, ‘I found my groove and the wines that this land wants to produce. Word-of-mouth is spreading.’

The dramatic sites are precious crus known for perfume, backbone, and ageable elegance – his father’s Rocche di Castiglione grapes were sold to grand houses. In this unique micro-zone, quality is damn near inevitable.

I witnessed a restaurateur from Alba’s exceptional Osteria dei Sognatori load cases and cases into the back of a vintage Fiat. Tourists drink labels, locals drink delights, and even answering to a consorzio with strict parameters, there’s room to take a creative turn.

20,000 bottles; 3.5 hectares; roccheviberti.it

Prandi

The insistent throwback

Family politics and primogeniture conspired to sideline Cristina Marello Prandi. Italian tradition favours firstborn sons – women are the last resort.

Still, Prandi’s hands wouldn’t be pried from where her great-grandfather founded the winery in 1856 on a ridge above the iconic Cannubi hill. In the late-1980s, her uncle transitioned to wine in bulk and thus no Prandi labels emerged as Barolo went global.

Thanks to dogged persistence and dirt-first agronomy, Cristina finally owns part of those vineyards overlooking her home village. ‘Barolo, for me, is my town and then my wine,’ she explains.

When friends and classmates left for adventures abroad, she stayed put. ‘I never tried to escape. My land is my study and my study is my experience.’

Imagine a young Jane Goodall dedicated to grapes instead of chimps. Wunderkind Prandi takes a similarly intuitive, holistic approach – a new expression of old beliefs in soil stewardship and agricultural diversity.

Prandi’s instinct and quiet wildness show in the purity of her wines. ‘We are organic since always. We don’t have a to-do list. There’s no recipe.’

25,000 bottles; 4 hectares; cristinaprandi.com

Cascina Bongiovanni

The committed family

It starts with a balance of labour: Marina Giordano and daughter Sara face the public and deal with trade. The men grow grapes and make wine.

Davide Mozzone might be neurodivergent; his son, Luca, certainly is. Marina sees this as a factor in their success: while others court applause, they pour savant-level focus into their cellar and famed sites of Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga and Monforte.

In generations past, the Bongiovanni family worked for nobiles and sold grapes grown for volume. ‘But when times changed,’ says Mazzone, ‘the only choice became to aim for quality.’ That’s when they shifted to expression, complexity, and ripening seeds.

‘It takes the plants 30 or 40 years to find equilibrium. And you only get 40 or 50 vintages as a winegrower.’ Thirty-three vintages in, Mozzone and his vines reflect a profound harmony, and their portfolio spans Nebbiolo’s full spectrum.

‘We produce something for the table everyday, and for the culture later. Drinkability and ageability – what if you can have both?’ he asks.

Their Barolo is rich reward for those with and without the patience to wait decades.

50,000 bottles; 7 hectares; cascinabongiovanni.it

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With the release of the 2023 vintage, Gaja’s ‘Gaia & Rey’ Chardonnay turns 40 – a symbolic milestone for a pioneering wine. It was the first white produced by the renowned Barbaresco winery, the first Chardonnay to be born in the Langhe, and the first Italian white wine to undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing in barrique.

The wine’s label combines the name of owner Angelo Gaja’s grandmother, Clotilde Rey, and that of his firstborn, Gaia, born in 1979 (the very year the Chardonnay vineyard was planted in Treiso), representing the company’s roots and its future.

On its release, it seemed outright futuristic.

Find out more about the evolution of Gaja’s Gaia & Rey Chardonnay

In the Langhe at that time, farmers couldn’t even pronounce the word Chardonnay, while Piedmont was just beginning to make its name thanks to Barbaresco and, above all, Barolo.

In Italy, white wines were considered simple products for immediate consumption and by the end of the spring they would all be sold out.

‛But I believed that the Langhe region offered the right characteristics to produce a complex, long-lived white,’ recalls Angelo Gaja. ‛What inspired me was my meeting with Robert Mondavi, who wanted to make great white wines in Napa Valley, emulating Burgundy. I liked his open-mindedness and resourcefulness.’

Gaia & Rey was released quietly as a table wine, but it quickly built a loyal following, especially abroad, surprisingly complementing the sumptuous Gaja reds. Today, it is included in the Langhe DOC. Given its success, other producers in the Langhe began to consider following in its footsteps.

How it started

According to a report by the Nomisma research institute on Italian consumer perception, Piedmont is the leading Italian region for the production of quality red wines, the fourth for sparkling wines, but only sixth for still white wines.

Asti DOCG is by far the highest production Piedmontese wine (90 million bottles per year of sparkling wine and Moscato d’Asti), and numerous other districts are driven by white wines, such as Gavi, Roero Arneis, Erbaluce di Caluso, and Derthona Timorasso.

This perception is largely influenced by the success of Barolo and Barbaresco, but it could change. ‛We believe the future of wine lies at higher altitudes, and we see it as whiter,’ Gaia Gaja beams.

She’s referring to her family’s latest business project: the acquisition of 30 hectares of land in the municipality of Trezzo Tinella, mostly planted with Chardonnay and Sauvignon – grape varieties with which Gaja boasts solid experience (in addition to Gaia & Rey, the winery produces Sauvignon Alteni di Brassica and the Chardonnay-Sauvignon blend, Rossj-Bass).

Trezzo Tinella is located a few bends above Barbaresco, just enough to rise from 300 to 600 metres above sea level and benefit from a decidedly cooler microclimate. The soils alternate between sand and stone.

‘It’s a virgin place for viticulture, which is why we’re extending the experimental phase.’ For his part Angelo Gaja knows well that a terroir isn’t created overnight and confirms that he’s in no rush.

In the meantime, the Gaja family’s investment could inspire others to follow in their footsteps and help improve Piedmont’s reputation as a white wine region.

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Broadening horizons

‛It was the late 1980s, I had recently graduated from the Alba School of Oenology, and a friend and I pooled our funds to buy a bottle of Gaia & Rey. It was a revelation! Shortly afterward, I decided to plant a few rows of Chardonnay in my vineyard,’ says Sergio Germano, who owns a winery in Serralunga d’Alba and is currently president of the local producers’ consortium.

‛The Langhe wine scene is dominated by the native Nebbiolo, but white wines can carve out a space as a complement to the company’s range, or as a basis for comparison with foreign wines,’ he continues.

‘The desire for innovation is a good sign; it shows that the region is dynamic, although I don’t think the great Piedmontese reds are ready to give up their crown,’ reflects Chiara Boschis, a Barolo producer.

Germano agrees but acknowledges that ‘in the face of climate change, we need to be ready to rethink paradigms.’ After all, he already produces a high-altitude Riesling in Cigliè, outside the Barolo area.

A true alternative?

So, could the white wine, considered merely ‘a complement to the range or a challenge to foreign markets,’ become an alternative to traditional red wines? ‘Sometimes Gaia & Rey succeeds where our reds cannot.

‘In the 1984, 1994 and 2002 vintages we gave up producing the Barbaresco crus because the Nebbiolo hadn’t ripened to perfection, but Gaia & Rey was exceptional, a true alter ego of our reds,’ Gaia reasons.

‘Chardonnay adapts better to extreme climates; it doesn’t suffer from the swings between very cold and very hot vintages, and the phenolic ripeness of its skin is less decisive than in red grapes,’ she continues.

With its rich array of white grape varieties and a fortunate morphology (Piedmont literally means ‘at the foot of the mountains’), the region seems poised to broaden its horizons.

Chiara Boschis, too, has ventured into producing a few bottles of white wine for the first time from Nascetta grapes, an ancient Langhe variety now favoured by local winemakers.

Maybe Angelo Gaja’s belief is spreading: ‘We must learn to look at the present not with the eyes of yesterday, but with those of tomorrow, to have an open mind toward the future.’

At the same time, however, he preaches calm and composure, as his rural culture taught him: ‘Senza fretta,’ – no rush…

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You love wine. You love music. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the perfect playlist for what’s in your glass?

You might ask, how could any musical recommendation be anything other than personal and subjective?

Stay with me: There is research. Even this sceptical writer with a high-tech background focused on data-driven results has been surprised by what the research data show.

Read Susan R Lin MW’s research on music and wine

Why music and wine? There is nothing like the transporting magical experience of listening to music that resonates deeply.

Wait, there is! You know when it happens: You taste a wine and something happens within you. A strong feeling, a long ago memory, something you can’t quite name surfaces. Suddenly you are on a journey to the past. It is visceral and emotional.

Music is my constant. Since my childhood I listened, I trained, I performed. I still do. Wine fulfils a similar passion, academically and spiritually. Their synergies and wonderful sensorial differences led me to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in piano and musicology, as well as the Master of Wine.

Naturally I had to explore any effects of music on the sensory experience of wine tasting for my Master of Wine Research Paper. What I share with you here is based on my own research, combined with the body of research from other academics.

A quick primer: Music comprises elements, and these were found to have a statistically significant effect on taste perception: pitch (high-low), tempo (fast-slow), timbre (sharp-round) and articulation (dynamic-smooth).

Similarly, wine has sensory characteristics: acidity or freshness, fruitiness, richness, complexity, and for sparkling wines, effervescence.

Despite music and wine being disparate sensory realms, their effects can be strikingly similar.

We often characterise both music and wine with such words as delicate, powerful, vibrant and so on. The combination of these components lend music and wine their overall feel and emotional potential.

The wine playlists: six to try

Research shows that we make intuitive associations between musical elements and taste sense – for instance, high pitch associates with acidity; low pitch can evoke bitterness. This is an oversimplification, of course, and the myriad combinations of elements make for fascinating research.

Based on the research – and a convivial wink from yours truly – here are six playlists to jumpstart your own wine and music journey, each tailored to complement a different style of wine.

Music for light whites

Key features: Freshness, fruitiness, zestiness, delicacy

Musical elements to enhance the tasting experience: High pitch, mid-fast tempo, bright timbre, dynamic articulation; gentle, exciting character.

Click to listen – my starter playlist on YouTube:

• Celtic and/or Chinese harp and flute music
• Pharrell Williams: Happy
• Taylor Swift: Shake It Off
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No 23, I Allegro

Music for rich whites

Key features: Oak/baking spices, broad/lush, creamy/textural

Musical elements: Lower pitch, slower tempo, rounder timbre, smoother articulation; layered textures, more powerful yet calm character.

Click to listen – my starter playlist:

• Carlos Santana: Samba Pa Ti
• Orville Peck: Daytona Sand
• Fujii Kaze: Garden
• Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Music for light reds

Key features: Fresh, fruity, bright, delicate floral, subtle earth notes

Musical elements: Mid-high pitch, mid-fast tempo, bright timbre, dynamic articulation; gentle, exciting character

Click to listen – my starter playlist:

• Toshiki Kadomatsu: If You (Wanna Dance Tonight)
• Ed Sheeran: Shape of You
• The Weeknd: Out of Time
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Keyboard Concerto No 4, 1st Movement

Music for rich reds

Key features: Texture (tannin shape), oak, intensity of fruit/earth notes, richness, complexity, density

Musical elements: Lower pitch, slower, stately tempo, rich timbre, smoother articulation, layered textures, powerful + calm or powerful + exciting

Click to listen – my starter playlist:

• The Doors: Riders on the Storm
• The Beatles: I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
• Astor Piazzolla: Libertango
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 7, 2nd Movement

Music for sparkling wines

Key features: Effervescence, and depending on style (e.g. Prosecco versus a youthful Brut non-vintage Franciacorta versus a vintage Champagne) we use musical elements as levers to highlight the appropriate sensory characteristics in the wine.

Click to listen – my starter playlist for lighter sparkling wines:

• Any well-produced Eurodance or up-tempo 90s/00s pop!
• Earth, Wind, & Fire: September
• Dave Brubeck: Someday My Prince Will Come
• Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, Finale

Click to listen – my starter playlist for richer, vintage-style sparkling wines:

• Bruno Mars: That’s What I Like
• David Guetta & Sia: Beautiful People
• Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerto No1, 3rd Movement
• Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto, 3rd Movement

Given the incredible wealth of music available, it was challenging to pare the lists down to a few selections – nonetheless, these lists demonstrate the power of different combinations of elements and character to bring a similar effect across varied musical genres.

Hopefully this has your creative juices flowing and you’ll be inspired to explore further!

Let your senses and emotions guide you. Allow yourself to sink into the feelings you experience. Be transported to someplace familiar – and perhaps to someplace new. Go forth and create your own music and wine adventure.

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Pietro Ratti walks among the rows of his newest vineyard, located in the highest part of La Morra, one of the 11 communes that make up the Barolo DOCG area.

It’s a scorching summer day but here at Serradenari, situated almost 500m above sea level, the woods surrounding the vineyard allow for a light breeze to blow.

The view is magnificent: the hill faces southwest and in the background the Alps are clearly visible.

‘My father did not consider Serradenari a cru,’ Ratti (pictured, below) says. ‘He thought that this hill was too high, too cold for Nebbiolo grapes. Now we enjoy with satisfaction our new Barolo, produced from grapes grown here.’ (The 2019 was the first vintage, released in 2023.)

Global wine geography is changing, and Ratti’s ‘Barolo of the peaks’ is a clear example of this.

Redrawing the map

Areas that were once considered unsuitable for viticulture – and even more unsuitable for producing great wines – are now on the rise due to climate change.

Pietro’s father, the late Renato Ratti (born 1934), published the Carta del Barolo map in 1970, on which the historic sub-zones of Barolo wine were indicated for the first time, including those most suited for producing high-quality bottles.

For geological and environmental reasons, the Serradenari zone doesn’t appear on that map.

‘Until 30 years ago, the cultivation of Nebbiolo vines, intended for Barolo, stopped below around 400m of elevation,’ explains Ratti, indicating the main road below leading north to La Morra that, in the past, constituted a sort of commonly accepted boundary.

Even today, most of the vineyards of the denomination are located below the road that cuts across the hill.

In 2004, however, the legendary producer Bruno Giacosa from Neive vinified the grapes grown above that road in his Barolo Croera ($179.99 K&LWines), a one-year experiment.

Mapping like mad

Langhe winemakers like mapping.

Long before Renato Ratti, two local scholars, the surveyor Lorenzo Fantini and botanist Ferdinando Vignolo Lutati, had already attempted to highlight the areas suitable for Barolo in their texts, titled respectively Monografia sulla Viticoltura ed Enologia nella Provincia di Cuneo (1879) and Sulla delimitazione delle zone a vini tipici (1929).

Following on from Ratti’s Carta del Barolo, the Atlante delle vigne di Langa was drawn up in 2000 by the experts of the Slow Food movement (headquartered in Bra, just northwest of the Barolo region).

Then, in 2010, came the official map of the 170 Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive (MGA) delimited production areas, pushed through by the local winemakers’ consorzio and now an integral part of the regulations of Barolo DOCG.

Except for Ratti’s map, the works cited don’t introduce a hierarchy between the vineyards (the MGAs don’t classify the sub-zones).

To identify the best locations, researchers asked locals, indicating the sub-zones considered most sought-after, whose grapes were promised to brokers year after year, or those for which the demand from bottling companies exceeded the supply of landowners.

They were the slopes exposed to the sun, the so-called sorì, in Piemontese dialect. This gave rise to the myth of the great crus of the Langhe.

In practice, these were the vineyards on hills at 300m-350m facing south and southwest. The feeling today is that something is changing because of climate imbalances, so other sub-zones, once undervalued, are unexpectedly getting their time in the sun.

When did the Langhe start to heat up?

Opinions among Barolo producers differ. Elio Altare said in an interview that 1997 was a turning point, while Angelo Gaja calls 2008 a ‘year of no return’. And many of us remember the torrid summer of 2003, a bit of a halfway point between those two.

In fact, when Barolo’s 2003 vintage hit the market four years later, the wines were loaded with alcohol and jammy fruit.

Winemakers realised that it was time to take some countermeasures and so, since then, summer thinning of the vines has been reduced, thick foliage is encouraged and anti-sun (and anti-hail) nets have appeared in the Barolo crus.

The ‘2003 climate’ has become the norm, but Barolo producers have equipped themselves.

Pietro Ratti claims that Nebbiolo is ‘a vine more influenced by the microclimate than by the soil’, a variety that, in order to adapt to the recent climatic context, is rather willing to grow in the ‘blank’ areas of the known maps.

Castelletto

The most striking case is Castelletto – a sub-zone of Monforte d’Alba commune in the southern sector of the Barolo DOCG zone – which occupies a rather steep hillside exposed to the morning sun. Opposite, on the other side of the valley, stands the legendary sorì of Serralunga d’Alba commune, with Vignarionda MGA in the foreground.

Castelletto was recognised as an MGA in 2010, but on Ratti’s map, the area had been left blank (whereas Vignarionda was included), just like in the geographical maps of antiquity: ‘Here be dragons’.

In the past, only the central part of the ridge, Pressenda, was recognised as a quality vineyard; other grapes from Castelletto were delivered to the historic Fontanafredda winery, which mixed them with those from other vineyards.

About 10 years ago, two new wineries, Fortemasso and Castello di Perno, decided to focus on this MGA, and the destiny of Castelletto changed.

Despite having different styles, the Barolos of Castelletto are fine, elegant, mineral and deliciously fresh.

Fortemasso’s entire production of Barolo comes only from vineyards in the Castelletto area, using the highest part of the hill for its Barolo Castelletto Riserva, which seems to give its best in years of high temperatures.

It’s too early to say what the actual ‘role’ of climate change is; what is certain is that now, the Castelletto zone consistently gives surprisingly pleasant wines without abdicating Barolo’s structure and tannic nature.

Curiously, the owners of both wineries aren’t originally from the Langhe. ‘I respect the local tradition, but coming from outside, I am not conditioned by it. Perhaps at the start I was considered a bit naive,’ admits Gregorio Gitti (pictured, below), university professor, lawyer and owner of Castello di Perno.

That may be so, but in the meantime Barolo’s great names have landed in Castelletto, one above all: Comm. GB Burlotto (2020, £307 Vinum/$249.95 Somms Cellars).

Ravera

Another MGA on the rise is Ravera, in the municipality of Novello, also in Barolo DOCG’s southern sector.

This is a large and varied sub-zone in terms of elevation and exposures, but at its heart is a wonderful amphitheatre of vineyards dominated by Cascina Nuova, Elvio Cogno’s winery.

Elvio’s daughter Nadia and her husband Valter Fissore believed in the potential of Ravera, whose grapes used to end up blended with those from other areas.

Fissore recalls: ‘In 1991, we were the first to come out with a Barolo Ravera, and for many years we were the only ones. The best area is the one facing southeast, open to the valley, ventilated and blessed by the temperature range.’

Today, they produce three Barolo Ravera from vineyards in the sub-zone: Ravera, Vigna Elena (both grown at 380m; Ravera 2020, £80.45 Shelved Wine/$125 Morrell Wine, Vigna Elena 2019, £129.72 Goedhuis Waddesdon/$249.79, Craft Wine) and Bricco Pernice (at 320m; 2019, £105 Vinvm/ $129.94 JJ Buckley).

According to Fissore, ‘Ravera teaches that freshness does not come at the expense of structure and longevity’.

If, at the start, Barolo from Ravera amazed for its chromatic transparency, salinity and finesse, over time these same characteristics have become rewarding: the sub-zone has been the great discovery of the 2000s, as demonstrated by some of the best wineries of the Langhe, such as Vietti, Vajra, Réva and ArnaldoRivera.

Blending benefit

In the Langhe region there are also those who prefer to keep alive the tradition of blending grapes from multiple vineyards to obtain ‘classic’ Barolos.

This offers the advantage of balancing the contribution of grapes from warmer and cooler plots, depending on the vintage conditions.

Pietro Ratti takes advantage of this for his Barolo Marcenasco (2020, £47.99 Cockburns of Leith/$65 Empire Wine), obtained from several estate-owned vineyards in La Morra, spread across different elevations.

But there are wineries that have always produced only classic Barolo: Bartolo Mascarello (see recommendations, below) has always blended the grapes from its five vineyards, some of which are in the famous Cannubi sub-zone, while others are in the east-facing Ruè MGA (both in the Barolo commune).

‘No one denies that the climate has changed, but chasing the highest or least sunny crus makes no sense,’ states owner Maria Teresa Mascarello (pictured, above).

‘The great sorì have not gone out of fashion, because the vineyards have the ability to self-regulate: in hot and dry years they produce fewer bunches to safeguard the integrity of their fruit,’ she continues.

In Maria Teresa’s opinion, it isn’t even necessary to apportion the grapes according to whether they come from more or less warm vineyard parcels, because ‘through the blend, each sub-zone makes a different contribution, so it’s easy to find the optimal balance in the final product’.

With wine region zoning in vogue, claiming that the most balanced Barolo is one that results from a blend may sound provocative.

But thanks to new vineyard locations and new agronomic measures, Barolo is one of the few Italian red wines whose alcohol content hasn’t skyrocketed, staying stable at around 14%. In this way, in the Langhe of 2025 and beyond, there are hopes of overcoming the challenge of global warming.

Barolo’s fresher face: Gaia’s pick of eight to try

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For all the attention lavished on Barolo and Barbaresco, the noble Nebbiolo grape gets very little of its own airtime. What is Nebbiolo when it isn’t either of these?

In the greater Langhe area – which also includes Roero – the answer is two confusingly overlapping denominations of Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba.

Without going into the minutiae of the specific regulations that distinguish the two, together these two DOCs provide producers with an outlet for non-DOCG interpretations.

Michaela’s pick of the 2022 and 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba below

For Nebbiolo lovers, they offer a treasure trove of diverse expressions that are typically less expensive and more immediately drinkable.

Given less stringent ageing requirements, these Nebbiolos are typically released sooner than producers’ DOCG bottlings of the same vintage.

As such, current releases hail from 2022 and 2023. Despite being marked by drought and heat, both years managed to yield wines with remarkable freshness and vibrancy.

A passing resemblance

Vintages aside, style is greatly impacted by estate philosophy. Most winemakers are adamant that they aren’t trying to produce a ‘baby Barolo’.

Nevertheless, some do bear a greater resemblance to DOCG wines than others – particularly those made from declassified Barolo or Barbaresco grapes and with longer ageing in wood.

Of these, Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe Rinaldi’s savoury 2022s are worth seeking out. They also represent greater accessibility – both in terms of drinking and price – within the context of their respective ranges. Gian Luca Colombo’s Meretto is another must-try if you can find it.

Departing from this traditional approach, Lalù favours maturation in a combination of cement and wood to reduce the impact of the latter. The 2023 impresses for its brightness of fruit and sophisticated texture.

Equally joyful, Cascina Penna Currado’s 100% whole-berry fermented Bricco Lago spends just a few months in large cask.

Others examples see no wood at all. As Valter Fissore at Elvio Cogno states: ‘It is supposed to be a friendly wine for drinking chilled in the summer.’

He purchased a vineyard outside the DOCG zone specifically for Langhe Nebbiolo and the 2023 Montegrilli is a deliciously fruity and crisp Nebbiolo. Azelia’s 2022 is a little bit richer but still in the same vein, and both boast excellent value.

One of my favourite examples of ‘naked’ Nebbiolo is Rivetto’s amphora-aged Vigna Lirano.

A special mention must be made of the Roero region, where predominantly sandy soil lends itself to a lighter, more elegant rendering of Nebbiolo. Mauro Molino’s 2023 is a lovely value-driven version.

Ratcheting it up a few notches, Bruno Giacosa and Sandrone’s bottlings from the Valmaggiore cru were two of my top picks of the entire report.

Michaela’s 25 top Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba to try:

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The vineyards appear healthy and don’t need irrigation, unlike on the southern slopes, where water assistance for the vines has been the norm for years. An electric driverless van passes by on the road, shuttling between wineries and a digitally managed hub, reducing logistics costs and environmental impact. It’s the summer of 2055, the Earth is boiling and viticulture has had to adapt. Just think, all of this had been predicted long before…

In 2024, all hell broke loose in the celebrated Piedmont wine region. The then president of the local Barolo consorzio, Matteo Ascheri, tackled the issue of climate change head-on with a series of radical proposals, including the lifting of the ban, established in the 1966 regulations, on planting Nebbiolo grapes destined for Barolo on north-facing hillsides. The debate was heated. The winemakers opposed to the proposal prevailed, citing a loss of biodiversity (the northern slopes of the Langhe hills are carpeted with woods or crops other than vines), as well as a negative impact on the quality of Nebbiolo grapes, traditionally planted on the southern slopes most exposed to the sun.

Sergio Germano, the consorzio’s new president, elected last May, faces the same challenges as his predecessor, from climate change to the spread of vine diseases. He suggests, instead, facing them ‘one step at a time’, as farmers do: ‘In the vineyards we are experimenting with new forms of leaf management, we are evaluating the use of shade films, anti-hail barriers, and we are open to the use of controlled irrigation.’ In his opinion, ‘Barolo is healthy.’ The numbers seem to prove him right: a record 15 million bottles were exported in 2023, the Barolo DOCG consorzio reports, and the average value of vineyards is said to exceed €1 million per hectare.

The Barolo district, with its reputation as an El Dorado for investors, represents a winning model. Even more important is the fact that the ‘king of wines’ has never been so good and reliable. Its top bottlings are more enjoyable, elegant and refined than the fruit bombs of a decade ago, the vintage trend is constantly positive and average quality is high. Barolo seems to have reached its zenith. The rules, in short, with their rigidity and limits, seem to be in step with the times. But are we sure that’s true?

Over the last century and a half, the map of Barolo wine has changed several times. Scholars such as Lorenzo Fantini, Ferdinando Vignolo Lutati and Renato Ratti have sifted through every clod of the Langhe, setting down on paper the territories best suited to Nebbiolo, according to the tastes of their respective eras. Some vineyards have thus acquired a deserved fame over time, but no map is set in stone.

The legendary ‘vineyards of the south’ may no longer represent the spearhead of Barolo in times ahead that promise to be torrid. It’s no coincidence that sub-areas once hardly considered are already gaining ground, such as Castelletto in Monforte d’Alba, with its east-southeast exposure and fine, fresh Barolo wines. Pointing the compass even further north might not be a sacrilege: after all, the northern slopes of the Langhe hills are already planted with vines, even with Nebbiolo grapes – they can’t boast the Barolo denomination, however, and must be bottled as Langhe Nebbiolo DOC.

The objections to Ascheri’s trenchant proposals were motivated by an all-out defense of the status quo, and north-facing Barolo has been passed off as taboo: but weren’t barriques and leaf-thinning also taboo when they were introduced here in the 1980s? ‘Optimising the pleasantness of Barolo’, Germano’s objective, may require stronger decisions than a well-combed leaf canopy. However, I’m certain that when the time comes, the Langhe’s winemakers will know how to take them, as has always happened in this noble wine’s history, and will project themselves into the future without fear of taking new paths.

In my glass this month

Who said that Barolo can’t be appreciated when it’s very young? In uncorking a bottle of Elio Altare’s Arborina Barolo 2021 (£85 Justerini & Brooks), I feel like I have done nothing wrong. The wine already has all its own credentials: on the nose it’s fruity and spicy, with notes of rose petals; on the palate it’s tasty, with velvety tannins, the acidity is perfectly balanced and the finish recalls hints of undergrowth and soil. I could have left it to sit in my cellar for another 15-20 years, but I just couldn’t resist!

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Deeply rooted in the winemaking history of Piedmont, Asti DOCG and Moscato d’Asti DOCG deserve greater attention.

A UNESCO World Heritage site of timeless charm, the region’s vineyards are planted on the sun-exposed slopes of limestone hills.

The vineyard area of these two denominations is the largest in Piedmont, with roughly 10,000ha spread across the three provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo, and can be split into two distinct macro-zones: the steeper, tougher soils of the Langhe and the gentler hills of Monferrato.

We are in the land of Moscato Bianco, part of the extensive family of Moscati present all over Europe and loved by noble courts in past t centuries for its perfumes and refreshing sweetness.

See notes and scores for 18 effervescent Asti wines below

Asti Spumante: A natural ‘lo-wine’

Representing almost two-thirds of Asti’s total annual production of 90 million bottles, Asti Spumante is mostly made using the tank or Charmat method – or should I say the Martinotti method, given that the technique was invented in 1895 by the then director of the oenological institute in Asti, Federico Martinotti.

Primary fermentation is halted by cooling the tanks, retaining the wine’s natural sugars and resulting in a lower alcohol content, typically around 7%-9%. The wine’s vibrant bubbles arise from secondary fermentation and the result is a smooth, round and creamy spumante.

Asti Spumante is incredibly versatile, pairing beautifully with light desserts and creamy cheeses, but also serving as an ideal aperitif.

In the last few years, a small group of winemakers has begun working on a more austere, tense and bone-dry version of Asti Spumante to celebrate its vibrant character with the touch of salinity the limestone soil can provide.

Moscato d’Asti: Froth & fruit

The production method for Moscato d’Asti involves lighter pressure during fermentation, creating a soft effervescence.

As a result, it has to be classified under the frizzante category. Its lower level of alcohol – around 5%-6% – and highly aromatic expression of ripe, zesty fruit and enticing orange blossom elements are complemented by some intense residual sugar.

The grapes are harvested by hand and yields for Moscato d’Asti are distinctly lower than for its fully sparkling counterpart.

Some of the wines can age surprisingly well, for 10-20 years – usually those from older vines and from the single-vineyard ‘sorì’ (the term refers to a very steep piece of land) or from the former sub-zone Canelli, which was elevated to a separate DOCG in 2023. These wines also typically offer a fuller body and more complex balsamic and saffron notes.

There’s a striking consistency across all of the 2024s I’ve tasted: the wines show explosive papaya, quince and pineapple notes combined with a floral touch and a ginger and lime twist, and that ‘piemontese feeling’ of mineral complexity.

18 effervescent Asti wines

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There’ll be a snowy photo of the vines in winter, or merry harvesters throwing their baskets in the air, with a scrawled signature. Occasionally I’m sent a list of wines with all the scores obtained in the previous year, like a wonk’s school report; or I get a request for a date – at one of the wine fairs the owners will soon attend. I glance, note… recycle.

And then out tumbled this: ‘What I Believe: Welcome to the corner of my consciousness.’ I unfolded the brightly coloured A2 sheet. On it, there were 10 points, beginning with ‘Enthusiasm’ (great!) and ending with ‘You are what you think, feel and do’ (true).

The sheet came from Enrico Rivetto, pictured wearing a fool’s cap from which a bunch of grapes dangled. He’s a fourth-generation Barolo producer with vineyards in Serralunga, the DOCG’s most desirable commune, though point eight stressed that ‘Vineyards are not owned but kept’. He makes lovely wines (I mentioned one with my February column): I’m sure he received a shaking of decent scores last year. But point five was ‘Less competition, more comprehension’, so he’s clearly not a scores guy. ‘I learned to unlearn’ sounded promising; ‘One in all, all in one’ needed further investigation. ‘Monoculture: what a bore’: that’s an intriguing tack for a wine-grower to take. ‘Plants speak,’ he believes, with King Charles III. I’m wholly in favour of ‘Imagine to create’. And wine itself? ‘It’s a kind of magic’, he says in point nine. ‘A sweet spell that … “uncorks people” and prepares them to listen’.

This I didn’t recycle; I hooked up with him on Teams instead.

I discovered a committed and passionate dissenter. ‘Wine is not the goal, but a tool to do something,’ he told me. ‘Piedmont is a conservative area, very closed. People revere you because you’re a “Barolo producer”. Many growers just think about making a great wine, making more money. This isn’t good for me. Why do we make wine? We could do other things. Why are we doing this? Many wine-growers don’t know how to answer that question, though it touches the soul.’

His answer? ‘Listen to the best teacher in the world: nature.’ He’s trying to turn his estate not into a million-euro business or a ‘fine-wine destination’ but ‘a place of beauty, a place to produce happiness’. So – after looking at himself squarely in the mirror, and asking ‘Are you really going to tear up Nebbiolo to plant rosehips?’ – he did indeed uproot some of his vine rows in order to create biodiverse hedge corridors, and slowly returned the estate to being a mixed-use farm which also produces spelt and other ancient grains, vegetables, fresh fruit for jams and juices, and medicinal herbs for essential oils. ‘The more I built this new system, the more people came and knocked at my door: a bee-keeper, a truffle farmer. Now we have a home-schooling project: we have 24 children coming here every day. Non-profit, to help parents transfer their skills to their children in a natural environment. To play the guitar, to prune a vine, to do things with energy and enthusiasm.’

It hasn’t all gone to plan, of course. ‘Nature is a perfect system, but in nature there is everything, good and evil, all in balance. It’s difficult to accept this, but everything is part of that one system, from bread yeast to star dust. Including the things we don’t like – perhaps they’re a stimulation to do better. I planted 1,000 trees; 20% died. I learned that nothing grows around a walnut tree. I used amphorae, terracotta; I made mistakes. When you do something new, it’s normal to make mistakes.’

Enrico’s lesson, though, for those who feel that ‘business as usual’ in the wine world is a misguided or troubled pursuit is ‘do something’.

‘It’s not enough just to talk in the bar or online,’ he says. ‘Don’t just protest, get angry, make a noise. You have an internal power – it’s called enthusiasm. You have to be the protagonist of your micro-world. Do something.’

In my glass this month

Just back from a day at Montpellier’s Millésime Bio trade fair, where I caught up with Hildegard Horat, another dissenter, of the admirable La Grange de Quatre Sous in Languedoc. I’ve always admired her wonderful Cabernet-based Lo Molin (we tried the still-young 2016) but had forgotten how good the white Bu N’Daw is: pure Petite Arvine (Hildegard is Swiss). Aged in earthenware, the 2023 is saline, sappy and fresh, its flavours a gentle résumé of celery and angelica – fine organic Languedoc white wine.

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In 2015, top Piedmontese winery Gaja purchased 30ha at 650m in Trezzo Tinella, planting vines and building a new 250,000-bottle winery principally to vinify white grape varieties grown in the new vineyards.

While the new facility is only a 15-minute drive from Gaja’s 19th-century winery in the village of Barbaresco, the vineyards here can be as much as 4°C cooler.

Although the initiative is a response to the warming climate, it also represents a huge investment in the future of Piedmont’s white wines.

Scroll down for David’s pick of Piedmont’s white wines

Located in northwest Italy between the Alps and the Apennines, Piedmont is rightly associated with great red wines.

Ideal conditions for grape-growing are provided by the continental climate, with protection from the worst of the weather by the nearby mountains and a range of hills, mainly of marine origin.

Reds made with Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto are Piedmont’s best-known wines; however, a largely unnoticed feature in recent years is a significant increase in the plantings of white varieties.

The quality of Piedmont’s white wines made with the likes of Cortese, Arneis, Timorasso, Erbaluce and Nascetta is evident in the glass, supported by planting statistics that are the ultimate proof that producers see an important future for white wines in the region.

Sergio Germano, winemaker at Ettore Germano (pictured below), driven by his own interest in white wines, cites the importance of the technology that’s now available for making whites, including temperature control.

He notes that the new focus on white varieties chimes perfectly with the contemporary trend for drinking lighter, more refreshing and lower-alcohol wines.

The big picture

In the period 2008-2024, according to the Anagrafe Agricola del Piemonte regional database, the total vineyard area in Piedmont remained relatively stable at around 44,500ha.

However, the area of red varieties fell by 11%, while that for white varieties rose by a remarkable 25%. As a result, white varieties increased from 31% to 40% of the total. Plantings of Nebbiolo (red) grew significantly, but it is the exception that proves the rule.

In fact, if plantings of Barbera continue to fall, the red variety will soon be overtaken by Moscato Bianco as the most planted variety in the region.

In terms of total hectares planted, Moscato Bianco is the uncontested queen of white varieties. With 10,425ha in 2024, it has more than three and a half times the plantings of the next most planted white variety, Cortese.

Nearly all of the Moscato grapes are used for tank-method sparkling wine – either Asti or Moscato d’Asti – although a handful of producers make dry, still Moscato wines, including newcomer Emanuele Gambino, who ages his in amphora.

Plantings of the variety have increased by 585ha since 2008, yet this only represents 6% growth; outside the top 10 for percentage growth.

Local heroes

Arneis is the biggest winner in terms of growth in planted areas, gaining 675ha since 2008 to 1,452ha. Of this, 920ha produces Roero Arneis DOCG. A short drive from the Langhe, Roero has distinctive sandy soils, perfect for Arneis.

Its popularity was established in the 1990s, when Barolo and Barbaresco producers led by Vietti and Bruno Giacosa adopted Arneis as their local white grape of choice. More than simply an early-drinking thirst quencher, Arneis is capable of extended ageing.

Matteo Correggia produces a Riserva-category Arneis from old vines. Sealed under screwcap for freshness, it is released with six years of bottle age. Similarly, Angelo Negro has a bottling released after seven years called Sette Anni.

Timorasso is the Piemontese grape currently on everyone’s lips. It has seen the second-largest percentage increase in area and is the rising star of Piedmont’s white wine scene. From a base of just 45ha in 2008 (and a meagre 6ha as recently as 2000), it now accounts for 478ha of vineyard.

Of these, about 400ha are in the previously unfashionable Colli Tortonesi, according to the local consorzio, and this has attracted attention from important Barolo and Barbaresco producers in recent years, including Vietti and Oddero.

The latter has invested in 3ha in Monleale, where Walter Massa revived the fortunes of the variety in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Isabella Oddero (pictured below) couldn’t be more effusive: ‘In our personal experience, we can say that the Timorasso grape grown in the Colli Tortonesi area is a great local variety and has huge potential in terms of complexity, bottle ageing, evolution and elegance.’

Fresh and concentrated on release, Timorasso shows its real quality after three to four years in bottle, developing a remarkable array of Riesling-like petrol aromas alongside herbal and dried stone fruit notes.

In the last decade and a half, Cortese has grown by 260ha to 2,776ha, of which 60% is used for Gavi DOCG. The region’s vineyards have grown considerably from an

initial 250ha when it was made a DOC in 1974.

An inexpensive and popular wine in both the on- and off-trades, achieving higher quality requires lower yields and intensive canopy management.

It is only then that wineries can create Gavi with a real sense of place and with the quality to age in the bottle, as with La Mesma’s Etichetta Nera 2014.

International flavour

Among the international varieties, Chardonnay is by far the most significant; its 1,371ha of vineyard represents a 42% increase since 2008. Much of the region’s Chardonnay is bottled as either Langhe Chardonnay or Piemonte DOC, while the remainder is blended into Alta Langa Viognier DOCG, a traditional-method sparkling wine of rapidly growing importance.

Long-term enthusiasts for Chardonnay include Gaja, with its much-admired Gaia & Rey bottling. In Barbaresco, Ca’ del Baio produces three styles: a wine from younger vines, aged only in stainless steel; another from older vines, which goes through malolactic fermentation and is aged in oak; and a new wine fermented and aged in oak.

In 1996, Matteo Correggia planted Sauvignon Blanc in Roero because he loved the variety. Since 2008, plantings across Piedmont have more than doubled to 260ha.

Furthermore, among other international varieties, Viognier and Riesling have increased from just 0.6ha and 18ha respectively in 2008 to 151ha and 78ha in 2024. Viognier is increasingly being seen as a good match for Piedmont’s warm growing season.

Examples to try include Marziano Abbona’s version from Dogliani.

New names to intrigue

Erbaluce, planted around Caluso, three-quarters of an hour northeast of Turin, has grown by 65% to 373ha in the last decade and a half.

Historically, this great variety was used mostly for making sweet passito style or late-harvest wines, but today, most Erbaluce wines are dry, with some traditional-method sparkling wine also being made.

Erbaluce’s restrained but subtle aromatics – crisp green apple, lemon and florals – combined with its high acidity make the grape suitable for all three styles, as demonstrated by Cieck’s wines.

While Nascetta has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, it hasn’t seen the same level of increased plantings as some of the other white varieties. From a tiny base of just 7ha, it now stands at 68ha.

One reason for its relatively slow growth is that it is strongly associated with the Barolo region, in which it competes directly for vineyard space with the much-in-demand Nebbiolo.

Valter Fissore of Nascetta-pioneer Elvio Cogno explains its appeal: ‘Even if it is a niche wine, more and more wine professionals and wine lovers are discovering and becoming more passionate about Nascetta.

‘Every day, we receive positive feedback and compliments for the high quality of this white wine, which is recognised as one of the great white wines of the Langhe.’

There are several other, even rarer white varieties, such as Baratuciat and Rossese Bianco, that may begin to gain traction in Piedmont in the future.

One thing is clear: while drinkers will undoubtedly continue to treasure the region’s great red wines, there are more and more reasons to reach for the highly characterful, distinctive white wines of Piedmont.

And the real focus of interest should be the indigenous varieties, especially Timorasso, Nascetta and Erbaluce.

They may be new names to learn and new wines to seek out, but they will certainly reward the adventurous drinker.

Piedmont’s white wines

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In Decanter magazine’s April 2025 issue, David Way writes about ‘Piedmont’s shifting focus’, which delves into the increase in plantings of white grape varieties in the Italian region and the reasons behind this change.

He notes: ‘The quality of Piedmont’s white wines made with the likes of Cortese, Arneis, Timorasso, Erbaluce and Nascetta is evident in the glass, supported by planting statistics that are the ultimate proof that producers see an important future for white wines in the region.’

The big picture

‘In the period 2008-2024, according to the Anagrafe Agricola del Piemonte regional database, the total vineyard area in Piedmont remained relatively stable at around 44,500 hectares (ha),’ writes Way in the article.

‘However, the area of red varieties fell by 11%, while that for white varieties rose by a remarkable 25%. As a result, white varieties increased from 31% to 40% of the total.’

Way identifies Arneis as the variety making the biggest gains: ‘Arneis is the biggest winner in terms of growth in planted areas, gaining 675ha since 2008 to 1,452ha.’ But the big picture is more than just this one variety.

Read the full article in April issue of Decanter, out on Wednesday 2 April.

Masterclass at Vinitaly

Separately, Way said that he will also be personally discussing the topic next week in a masterclass during the Vinitaly 2025 expo in Verona.

Anyone planning to attend Vinitaly (6-9 April 2025) can sign up for the masterclass by following the link below. All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of Decanter‘s April 2025 issue.

Masterclass details: Tuesday, 8 April 2025, from 13:30 to 14:30 (CEST).

Discover more and register to attend

About David Way

David is author of The Wines of Piemonte (£35 Académie du Vin Library, 2023) and senior researcher for WSET Level 4 Diploma textbooks, as well as a contributor for Decanter. He also runs his own website, winefriend.org.

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The 2021 Barolo vintage has arrived, and it’s making waves. Tastings reveal a vintage of striking character, ripe fruit, and formidable structure, hinting at impressive longevity. But some wines miss the mark, highlighting the vintage’s nuanced complexity.

Certain communes shine, while others deliver mixed results. And while the 2021 vintage offers charismatic, ageable Barolos, high prices for the most in-demand bottles can be a challenge.

Below, we’ve pinpointed 10 outstanding bottlings that deliver remarkable character without the premium price tag. 

Michaela Morris’ 10 top Barolo 2021 value picks below

2021 is a charismatic and ageable vintage for Barolo. Yet while the top wines are highly sought after with soaring prices, there is still value to be found.

Serralunga d’Alba has the highest number of village-level bottlings in the region, and is therefore a particularly good source of wines with a good quality:value ratio.

Outstanding wines can be found throughout its numerous MGAs, with Cerretta a virtual treasure trove: Azelia and Ettore Germano’s bottlings are just two gems there.

The township also features the region’s largest number of village bottlings, identified on the label as ‘Comune di Serralunga d’Alba’. Quality and philosophies vary but in 2021, these provide a great source for value as exemplified by Palladino, Mauro Veglio and Fontanafredda.

Overall, 2021 is absolutely an excellent vintage. While it may not reach the exquisite level of refinement as 2016, it is undeniably worth buying.

Furthermore, as prices for the region’s top estates soar, it is a good year to seek out under-the-radar producers.

Below, I have picked out 10 of the best value bottlings of Barolo 2021. Enjoy!

Read Michaela’s full report on Barolo 2021

Barolo 2021: Top value picks

Vietti, Barolo: While not actually the least expensive Barolo, what it delivers for the money is exceptional.

Azelia, Barolo: A finely woven tapestry of the Scavino family’s holdings in Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga.

Castello di Verduno, Barolo: A flagbearer for the village of Verduno; as accessible in price as it is in drinkability.

GD Vajra, Albe, Barolo: When ‘young vines’ means three decades in the ground… This is much more than just a straightforward ‘entry’ Barolo.

Massolino, Barolo: A perennial over-achiever that sets the bar for the rest of the range.

Palladino, Barolo Serralunga d’Alba: One of the most consistent village bottlings that is so satisfyingly Serralunga.

Fontanafredda, Barolo Serralunga d’Alba: An affordable, evocative and widely available snapshot of the township.

Bruna Grimaldi, Camilla, Barolo: Camilla doesn’t aspire to anything beyond short to mid-term pleasures but delivers these with absolute charm.

Icollirossi, Barolo Monforte d’Alba: Showing more focus and polish than in the past, making it a worthwhile buy.

Mauro Molino, Barolo: Despite a pinch from Monforte, this is so elegantly La Morra-esque.

Top 10 Barolo 2021 value picks

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• Barbaresco 2022: The hot vintage paradox & pick of the 2020 Riservas

The 2022 Barbaresco vintage presents a paradox: a hot, dry growing season yielding wines that defy expectations, often showing surprising freshness and purity. However, quality is inconsistent, with some wines exhibiting leanness and higher-than-usual volatile acidity.

This report explores the challenges faced by producers which led to earlier-than-average harvests and lower yields. While some vineyards thrived, showcasing the resilience of Nebbiolo and the skill of the agronomists, others struggled.

Discover which communes and vineyards excelled, and find out which respected producer declassified their entire Barbaresco production.

Alongside the 2022s, the report also examines the 2020 Riserva releases, highlighting their graciousness and early accessibility. Uncover the secrets of these contrasting vintages and gain insight into the nuanced character of Barbaresco in a challenging climate.

Barbaresco 2022 vintage rating: 3.5/5

Prolonged and extreme drought with above average temperatures led to an early harvest. Quality is uneven but the successes are truly worthwhile, offering remarkable freshness and near to mid-term drinking.

Notes and scores for the best Barbaresco 2022 & Riserva 2020 below

‘A paradox’ is how many Barbaresco producers describe the 2022 vintage. The paradox is that despite the hot and dry growing season, the wines do not necessarily show as a hot vintage. They are neither exaggerated in alcohol nor overripe or stewy.

Some do demonstrate a candied fruit quality, and tannins can someties have a slightly dry, dusty feel, but freshness is well preserved, and the best examples boast admirable purity, definition and depth. This is a great testament to Barbaresco’s winemakers and agronomists who worked tirelessly to manage and interpret an unprecedented vintage.

Yet quality is not consistent across all estates. Beyond overly lean, lacking examples, I also found a greater number of faulty wines than usual – particularly unpleasantly high VA (volatile acidity) and vinegary notes.

Overall, I consider 2022 a surprisingly good rather than outstanding vintage. Beyond heterogenous quality, there is less clear identity between MGA bottlings. ‘Hot vintages tend to flatten differences’, concurs Daniela Rocca at Albino Rocca.

For this reason, Andrea Sottimano – who produces MGA bottlings exclusively – declassified all the estate’s Barbaresco as Vino da Tavola and sold in bulk. ‘I don’t want to say that 2022 is a bad year. Rather, the wines lack terroir expression’, he declares.

Wine of the vintage

Giuseppe Cortese, Barbaresco Rabajà: The estate went against the grain in 2022, waiting until October 10th to harvest and making no compromises in the cellar. Demonstrating purity, tension and textural complexity, this rang out and took my top score in a blind tasting of almost 70 of its peers.

Barbaresco 2022: Highlights

In terms of highlights, the Barbaresco township was the most consistent. Within its western sector, great sites like Asili and Rabajà proved their mettle. Bruno Giacosa and Ca’ del Baio in the former, and Giuseppe Cortese in the latter are among my top picks.

On the village’s opposite flank, the Ronchi slope benefitted from its eastern orientation being spared the scorching afternoon sun. Look for Albino Rocca and David Fletcher’s bottlings.

In Treiso, Rizzi came out with a lovely set of wines from its fresh, well ventilated sites, while in Neive, Paitin’s Serraboella and Massolino’s Albesani are worth seeking out.

Given the atypical conditions, it is difficult to equate 2022 with other vintages. ‘Perhaps it resembles 2015, but without the ageing potential’, proposes Bruna Giacosa.

Indeed, most wines suggest a drinking window between five to 10 years, but top performers have the potential to reward in the cellar beyond this.

I recommend choosing wisely from trusted producers in 2022, but don’t miss out completely. To do so would deny joy and admiration for this truly unique and paradoxical vintage.

Barbaresco 2022: Vintage conditions

The drought that started in 2020 and continued through 2021 reached its apogee in 2022. Produttori del Barbaresco recorded 5cm of snow in early December 2021, after which there wasn’t any significant precipitation again until 25mm of rain fell on 3 May.

I visited shortly after, when spring rain typically makes it impossible to walk through the vineyards. The earth, however, was powder dry. Nor were the canopies their usual lush, vigorous selves. Instead, the vines had barely grown.

June through to August continued in the same arid vein, adding higher than average temperatures into the mix. Somehow, the vines managed not just to survive but adapt. ‘They looked like bonsai’, describes Gaia Gaja, adding that there was no sign of stress.

The vines responded to the lack of water by forming small clusters and not pushing suckers. ‘This meant less evapotranspiration, and therefore less need for water’, explains Franco Massolino.

The upside was an absence of fungal disease. Likewise, green harvesting was barely necessary. Instead, vineyard work focused on preserving moisture and managing what little canopy there was to shade the grapes from sunburn.

The first half of September saw a couple of scant showers, which were ‘just enough to help Nebbiolo’, according to Luisa Rocca at Bruno Rocca. They also served to bring temperatures down.

Harvest time

When I returned to the region in early October, harvest should have been in full swing. However, most estates had already finished picking with starting dates between one to two weeks earlier than average. One of the rare outliers, Giuseppe Cortese waited until 10 October, crediting a light rain prior for helping bring balance to the grapes.

While some growers maintain that achieving phenolic ripeness was not an issue, deciding when to harvest was a challenge for many. ‘We kept waiting for phenolic maturity, but it never happened’, recalls rising star Francesco Versio.

Yields were considerably lower than average, particularly in hotter, south-facing pockets. Despite healthy grapes with thick skins, winemakers exercised caution in the cellar.

According to Enrico Dellapiana at Rizzi, the dry, hot conditions resulted in low assimilable nitrogen levels, increasing the risk of stuck fermentations. He chose to inoculate ‘to encourage regular and rapid fermentation’.

Shorter macerations were also common. Versio reduced time on the skins to just 15-20 days, versus up to 45 days in 2021, and opted for pump-overs only. ‘There was a risk of making thin wines’, he admits.

Barbaresco 2022 value picks

Castello di Verduno, Barbaresco: This elegant package hails from some of Barbaresco’s most distinguished sites.

Luigi Oddero, Barbaresco: Immediate and ample pleasure for an excellent price.

Nada Giuseppe, Barbaresco Casot: A small family estate with deep roots in Casot and organic certification since 2017.

Poderi Colla, Barbaresco Roncaglie: A top name in the Langhe but stills flies under the radar.

Rizzi, Barbaresco Rizzi: The flagship bottling offers a very affordable introduction to an estate well worth discovering.

What Barbaresco 2022 to drink when

Green light: Drink over the next 5-7 years

Albino Rocca, Barbaresco Cottà: A soft and seductive version of this typically long-lived bottling.

Cascina Luisin, Barbaresco Rabajà-Bas: Lovely precision, best to enjoy while all is in focus.

Enrico Serafino, Barbaresco Bricco di Neive: Suave, yielding and upfront in its charms – perfect for drinking now.

Cantina Vignaioli Elvio Pertinace, Barbaresco Marcarini: Full of plush fruit and zesty acidity for immediate gratification.

Francesco Versio Barbaresco: One of the denomination’s rising stars, Versio teases out prettiness and perfume in this challenging vintage.

Yellow light: Drink over the next 10+ years

Massolino, Barbaresco Albesani: Charming now but with ample density and length for the next 10 years.

Olek Bondonio, Barbaresco Roncagliette: All its vigour is imposing now but should serve to carry the wine over the next decade.

Rizzi, Barbaresco Pajorè: Boasts depth, buoyancy, elegance and admirable mid-term ageability.

Gaja, Sori San Lorenzo Barbaresco: One of the top wines of the vintage with exceptional definition and cellaring potential of at least 15 years.

Bruno Giacosa, Barbaresco Asili: Rising gloriously above the vintage’s challenges, this should sail effortlessly into 2040.

Barbaresco Riserva 2020

Apropos of pleasure, Barbaresco’s 2020 Riserva are being released at the same time. Among a small set of approximately 25 tasted, quality is high.

A very warm summer was balanced by showers and the coddled vines yielded ripe, supple, delightful annata wines. Correspondingly, the Riservas emphasise graciousness over power. The few that disappointed were robbed of vintage expression and harmony, perhaps from clumsy or overly long ageing in wood.

Among the category’s successes, Marchesi di Grésy’s Martinenga Gaiun and Bruno Giacosa’s Asili epitomise enduring finesse, while Produttori del Barbaresco’s Ovello and Paitin’s Serraboella Vecchie Vigne demonstrate a charming balance to their usual vigour.

While the vintage does not rate among the longest-lived, the wines should evolve gracefully over 10 to 15 years and will offer relatively early accessibility.

What Barbaresco Riserva 2020 to drink when

Green light: Drink over the next 10 years

Orlando Abrigo, Rongalio Barbaresco Riserva: A well-priced, characterful Riserva from a lesser-known estate.

Fratelli Giacosa, Vigna Gianmate’, Barbaresco Riserva Basarin: Offers plenty to chew on for those looking for a robust Riserva.

Vietti, Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà: Supple and immediately seductive with Barbaresco elegance and Riserva complexity.

Yellow light: Cellaring potential of 15+ years

Bruno Rocca, Barbaresco Rabajà: Very sophisticated and detailed, this will reveal its intricacies slowly.

Paitin, Sorì Paitin Vecchie Vigne, Barbaresco Serraboella: Its signature austerity is just sufficiently curbed without sacrificing longevity.

Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco Ovello: Sturdy and robust but harmonious. Just give it a few years before opening.

Barbaresco & Riserva recommendations:

Wines are listed 2022 Barbarescos first, then 2020 Riservas

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The ‘classic’ 2019 Barolo vintage yielded exciting annata wines, and now the Riserva bottlings are under scrutiny with their release this year.

This report delves into the vintage’s unique profile, examining how its structure translates at the Riserva level. Discover which producers and vineyards have harnessed these characteristics to create wines of exceptional quality and longevity.

Explore the nuanced differences between annata and Riserva bottlings, and gain insight into the ageing potential of specific selections.

In this article:

• An assessment of the Barolo Riserva 2019 bottlings.
• The impact of vintage on Riserva expression.
• What Barolo Riserva 2019 to drink when
• Barolo Riserva 2019: 25 recommendations

Scroll down for Michaela’s pick of the 2019 Barolo Riservas

The widely touted 2019 Barolo vintage has been hailed as ‘classic’ by many. While the term is debatable, the annata (non-Riserva) wines excited me for their tension and tautness.

Complete without being excessive, they were refreshingly reasonable in alcohol levels and youthfully austere. I was therefore curious how this would manifest at the Riserva level.

A first look included approximately 40 examples, a few of these still in cask. Tasting them next to the 2021 Barolo, I was reminded that 2019 is slimmer and sinewy in frame, with less textural richness and density.

This does not make for less valid Riserva, however.

Standout sites

The best harness the firm, linear nature of the vintage, balancing fruit purity with refined tannins. In less successful examples, overtly tertiary aromas and flavours juxtaposed with an unyielding structure made me question their potential to age harmoniously.

While some estates take a ‘classic’ approach by blending their best plots from diverse subdistricts, single-MGA bottlings dominate. Above all, the great sites stood out, particularly in Prunotto’s Bussia, Oddero and Massolino’s Vignarionda, and Paolo Scavino’s Rocche dell’Annunziata.

‘Riserva should be a wine that has complexity, structure, tannins and a sophisticated bouquet with excellent potential for ageing,’ explaind Claudio Fenocchio, who makes a parcel selection from holdings in Bussia. His 2019 Riserva delivers on all these fronts.

Bold decisions

Never one to shy away from bold decisions, Roberto Conterno bottled his entire production from Francia and Arione exclusively as Riserva for the estate’s iconic Monfortino label. It epitomises the Riserva spirit.

It also comes at a lofty price, which is a significant factor when considering Riserva. As the annata bottlings already deliver a lot, I am focusing on just the most singular Riserva in 2019. To the ones mentioned above, I would add Elvio Cogno’s brilliantly poised and evocative Vigna Elena.

Most Riserva 2019 will benefit from more time, with an average drinking window of 15 years, though a few propose near-term accessibility. A select handful are built for a solid couple of decades.

What Barolo Riserva 2019 to drink when

Green light: Over the next 10 years

Fontanafredda, Barolo Riserva: This classic blend of historic vineyards is settling into its groove.

Mauro Veglio, Barolo Riserva Rocche dell’Annunziata: Barrique ageing has already softened the tannins in this seductively styled Riserva.

Grimaldi Giacomo, Barolo Riserva Le Coste: The family’s elegant flagship bottling has recently been upgraded to Riserva.

Yellow light: No rush, enjoy over the next 15 years

Prunotto, Vigna Colonnello, Barolo Riserva Bussia: Personality wins over sheer force, but this is not lacking in backbone.

Brezza, Vigna Bricco, Barolo Sarmassa: Mature though not tertiary in nuances while steely tannins have yet to yield.

Elio Grasso, Rüncot, Barolo Riserva: Uber-concentrated and vigorous, this needs a ton of time and may even make it into the 20-year club.

The 20-year club

Oddero, Barolo Riserva Vignarionda: Properly austere without being severe, it is a masterful example of vintage and site.

Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Barolo Riserva: Powerfully sculpted, this will require years to reveal its underlying finesse.

Elio Altare, Vigna Bricco, Barolo Cerretta: The innate balance is already palpable here, promising harmonious ageing.

Barolo Riserva 2019: Michaela’s 25 recommendations

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The 2021 Barolo vintage has arrived, and it’s making waves. Tastings reveal a vintage of striking character, ripe fruit, and formidable structure, hinting at impressive longevity. But some wines miss the mark, highlighting the vintage’s nuanced complexity.

Certain communes shine, while others deliver mixed results. Discover which regions and specific vineyards are producing the most compelling wines, and which to approach with caution. Is this a vintage for immediate enjoyment, or one to cellar for decades?

This comprehensive report delves into the details, from the unique weather patterns that shaped the vintage to the individual triumphs and challenges faced by producers. Which rising stars and established estates are crafting the most exciting Barolos?

And will 2021 truly stand the test of time, or is the hype premature? Uncover the secrets of this captivating vintage and navigate the world of 2021 Barolo with expert insights.

In this article:

• Barolo 2021 vintage rating
• Wine of the vintage
• Barolo 2021: Commune by commune
• Assessing Barolo 2021
• What Barolo 2021 to drink when
• The 2021 vintage in detail
• Barolo 2021: The top scorers
• Plus: 160 recommended wines with tasting notes & scores

Barolo 2021 vintage rating: 5/5

After a spring frost brought localised damage, the summer was hot and dry. Winter water reserves and cooler temperatures at night helped mitigate stress. A late harvest yielded charismatic yet well structured wines with great ageing potential.

Top-scoring Barolo 2021 wines are listed below

Introducing the 2021s

I had the pleasure of tasting over 300 Barolo 2021 and was impressed by the striking charisma of the vintage.

Many wines are already expressive, exuberant even. The fruit character is mature but not tertiary or overripe, and the wines are not developing too rapidly.

While aromas are animated, the structure says ‘wait’. Rather than the nervous energy or austerity of 2019, the 2021s are imposing and impactful.

It is a vintage of substance and volume with ample, ripe tannins. Alcohol is well absorbed and acidity admirably preserved.

There is a lot there; except when there isn’t. Some wines showed surprisingly lean, not always explained by a cooler site. Perhaps these were picked earlier or reflect vinification style.

At the other extreme, a few were heavy-handed. The least successful struggled with issues like volatile acidity (VA).

At a handful of estates, I tasted 2021 alongside 2020. It’s a shame that the former vintage will overshadow the latter, as in certain cases I preferred the harmonious, finer framed and vibrant 2020s.

Hopefully, Barolo aficionados can find room for both in their cellars.

Maria Teresa Mascarello is among those who make a parallel between the last three releases and their corresponding counterparts of 1999, 2000 and 2001.

‘However, climate and how the wines taste are two different things’, she emphasises.

I recall tasting the 2001s upon release and indeed recognise a similarly captivating yet commanding character in the 2021s. Will 2021 live up to that highly touted year?

Wine of the vintage

Sara Vezza, Persiera, Barolo Castelletto 2021: Singling out just one wine seemed impossible at first, but after considering what stood out in 2021, it had to be from Monforte d’Alba.

The Castelletto MGA impressed with numerous examples, and as I believe 2021 is a great vintage to seek out lesser-known estates, the choice soon became easy.

Sara Vezza’s Persiera charmed me in the blind tasting, and above all, it is much improved – less heavy and oak-laden, with a spring in its step. Brava!

Barolo 2021: Commune by commune

Made for Monforte d’Alba

Above all, the vintage seems made for Monforte d’Alba. Balanced in their volume, the wines from this township wear their bigger frames effortlessly. Unsurprisingly, many recommendations hail from the large but consistently outstanding Bussia MGA.

Besides top picks such as Aldo Conterno’s Colonnello and Giuseppe Rinaldi’s bottling, the lesser-known Cascina Amalia and Marrone are worth seeking out. The revered sites of Mosconi and Ginestra in Monforte also shine in 2021.

Prime examples are E Pira & Figli’s’ Mosconi and Domenico Clerico’s Ciabot Mentin Ginestra.

If I had to choose one up-and-coming MGA in 2021, it would be Monforte’s Castelletto, a cooler zone incorporating eastern exposures.

GB Burlotto’s newest bottling has garnered attention for the MGA, but 2021 offers many convincing efforts including those from Sara Vezza and Fortemasso.

The ‘runner up’ would be Le Coste di Monforte thanks to rising stars like Lalù and Diego Conterno.

Serralunga and La Morra

Serralunga d’Alba boasts a strong showing in 2021 beyond the iconic monopolies of Bruno Giacosa’s Falletto and Giacomo Conterno’s Francia. Outstanding wines can be found throughout its numerous MGAs, with Cerretta a virtual treasure trove: Azelia and Ettore Germano’s bottlings are just two gems there.

The township also features the region’s largest number of village bottlings, identified on the label as ‘Comune di Serralunga d’Alba’. Quality and philosophies vary but in 2021, these provide a great source for value as exemplified by Palladino, Mauro Veglio and Fontanafredda.

Barolo’s most prolific commune, La Morra is uneven in 2021 – as it often is – yet delivers more pleasant surprises than letdowns. Some (for example, Trediberri’s Rocche dell’Annunziata) are fully charged, while others (Dosio’s village bottling) capture the finesse typically associated with La Morra.

Long considered a ‘grand cru’, Brunate – which spills into the township of Barolo – is among the vintage’s triumphs. Oddero should be singled out, not just for its Brunate but for the estate’s stunning wines across the entire range.

La Morra also lays claim to one of the denomination’s most exciting newcomers, Carlo Revello.

Barolo to Verduno

As for the Barolo township, it is perhaps the most disappointing. In the heart of the region with many lower, well protected sites, it feels the warmth more acutely.

Cannubi yielded mixed results, with fantastic bottlings from Elio Altare and Brezza but others that did not live up to this hallowed hill’s reputation. Even the cool, higher altitude Bricco delle Viole showed more richness and substance than usual, though GD Vajra managed this site deftly.

In the relatively small Castiglione Falletto township, the alliance of elegance and power is magnificently embodied by Ceretto’s Bricco Rocche, Paolo Scavino’s Bric del Fiasc, and Giacomo Fenocchio’s Villero.

From Novello, an even smaller set of wines was centered around Ravera. I include this fresher zone in the vintage’s highlights. In addition to superstars Elvio Cogno and Vietti, solid efforts from Marengo Mauro and Abrigo Fratelli only serve to strengthen Ravera’s growing esteem.

Similarly, in Verduno, the best wines came from Monvigliero, with GB Burlotto’s bottling taking my top score of the vintage so far, however they – along with Castello di Verduno and Diego Morra – also propose lovely village-level Barolo.

Assessing Barolo 2021

One of the markers of an outstanding vintage is high quality throughout the region. The Albeisa Consorzio’s blind tastings organised by commune gave insight into how each township performed, whereas estate visits afforded side-by-side comparisons of diverse MGAs made by the same hand.

Another factor in assessing Barolo is ageability. In general, the 2021s are well endowed with stuffing and structure for cellaring, without the hard tannins of the past.

I believe most will reveal more of their intricacies with time: some will be at their best over the next seven to 10 years – others deserve longer – with the top wines suggesting a couple of decades.

The question remains whether the 2021 Barolo will have the longevity of classic vintages of the last century. I look forward to following 2021 as it evolves.

One of the beauties of this vintage is that the wines should satisfy throughout, allowing drinkers to open them according to personal preference.

Overall, 2021 is absolutely an excellent vintage. While it may not reach the exquisite level of refinement as 2016, it is undeniably worth buying.

Furthermore, as prices for the region’s top estates soar, it is a good year to seek out under-the-radar producers.

I would not dream of describing 2021 as a ‘classic vintage’, however, it does have the potential to be considered a modern benchmark in this warming climate.

What Barolo 2021 to drink when

Green light: Now and up to 10 years

Dosio, Barolo del Comune di La Morra: Improvements in the cellar plus cool heights give a bright and brisk Barolo.

Piazzo comm. Armando, Valente, Barolo: A vibrant, generous and supple offering from Novello with immediate appeal.

Luigi Einaudi, Ludo, Barolo: Young vines and a lightness of touch make for an elegantly approachable bottling.

Figli Luigi Oddero, Barolo: Tempting now but boasts sufficient backbone for a decade.

Diego Morra, Barolo Monvigliero: Ready to dole out Monvigliero’s charms over the next 10 years.

Yellow light: No rush, 15+ years

Diego Conterno, Barolo Le Coste di Monforte: A superb introduction to this cool MGA, but wait a couple of years before diving in.

Marcarini, Barolo La Serra: While this is already beautifully forthcoming, structure will carry it for the next 15 years.

ArnaldoRivera, Barolo Vignarionda: An excellent (and well priced) interpretation of this hallowed site including its ability to age.

Borgogno, Barolo Liste: This has come together nicely but I’d still give those tannins a bit more time.

Giacomo Fenocchio, Barolo Villero: A stunning wine that will reward immensely with a bit of patience.

Cellaring required: 20+ years

Ceretto, Barolo Bricco Rocche: Lovely balletic precision with toned muscles for the long haul.

Domenico Clerico, Ciabot Mentin, Barolo Ginestra: Sturdy but promises to age more gracefully than past examples.

Aldo Conterno, Colonnello, Barolo Bussia: I won’t even think about touching this for the next 10 years.

Bruno Giacosa, Barolo Falletto: Innate refinement is already evident here but delaying gratification will vastly improve enjoyment.

Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Francia: Simmering slowly and best left alone for now.

2021 vintage conditions

‘Nature pulled a rabbit out of the hat and let us make something decent in 2021,’ states Alan Manley at Margherita Otto. Better than decent, the 2021 vintage yielded a surfeit of great Barolo, though it wasn’t without challenges.

It began auspiciously with repeated snowfall in December and January – the last significant flurries that the Langhe has seen. Ski aficionados such as Fabio Alessandria and Gianluca Grasso remember this clearly because resorts were closed due to Covid restrictions.

Accompanying sub-zero temperatures enhanced the benefits. ‘The snow froze and remained for a couple weeks, allowing water to penetrate deep into the ground,’ explains Emanuele Jori at Bartolo Mascarello.

After falling to -6°C in mid-February, temperatures shot up. ‘On February 25th, it reached 21°C and March remained warm’, continues Jori. Nascent buds were therefore in full development when it dropped below freezing again between 7-8 April.

While Barolo’s hillside vineyards are reasonably safeguarded from frost, currents pushed the cold air upwards. ‘Damage reached almost 300 metres, which even old-timers had never seen’, says Alessandro Veglio at Mauro Veglio.

Localised rather than widespread, frost nonetheless hit certain producers considerably hard. Brovia calculates 50% loss of Garblèt Sue’ in the Altenasso MGA, while Bartolo Mascarello reports damage in prime parcels of Cannubi and Rocche dell’Annunziata.

At the Giuseppe Rinaldi estate, ‘we eventually had to replant 70% of our Brunate’, Marta Rinaldi explains, as the vines simply didn’t recover.

Frost to drought

After a cooler May which delayed flowering and slowed vine growth, summer was hot and arid. July saw occasional sprinkles but barely a drop fell in August. Heat was a greater concern than water stress thanks to reserves built up in the winter.

‘The challenge was keeping the vines in balance’, says Nicolas Oddero at Trediberri. Reprieve came in mid-September, when modest showers brought temperatures down, particularly at night.

Harvest began in the last week of September, although according to Alessandro Masnaghetti of Enogea, who collects data from almost 200 estates, the average start date was 7 October – many producers chose to wait until after the forecasted showers of 4 October.

Azelia’s Lorenzo Scavino describes the harvest as calm. ‘We could pick in the rhythm and order we wanted.’

The result was small, healthy grapes rich in polyphenols. ‘You could bounce the bunches’, recalls Erik Revello at Carlo Revello, who credits significant diurnal temperature excursions with giving elasticity to the skins.

The quality and structure of the berries was maximised by those producers who favour long macerations.

Several winemakers noted slower fermentations. Giuseppe Vaira at GD Vajra attributes this to low soil nitrogen associated with the dry summer.

‘For some, this is bad news, but we like long fermentations,’ he declares.

Alessandro Veglio admits he was concerned about a potential increase in volatile acidity. ‘Thankfully, it just gave the wines extra richness.’

Barolo 2021: The top scorers

View all 160 recommended Barolo 2021 wines from the report

Updated 26/3/2025: 21 additional tasting notes added

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Related articles

• Barolo 2021: Top value picks
• Barolo Riserva 2019: Morris’ 25 top picks
• Barbaresco 2022 vintage: The hot vintage paradox & pick of the 2020 Riservas

A strong run of vintages makes this a fascinating time to delve deeper into the Nebbiolo strongholds of Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont’s rolling hills, where style icons and hidden gems alike offer riches for collectors at all levels.

Piedmont is sometimes described as Italy’s answer to Burgundy, but producers’ masterful work with Nebbiolo in the Langhe hills deserves its own plinth.

What’s more, there is talk of 2019, 2020 and 2021 forming an alluring trilogy, with 2021 as its shining capstone.

A downloadable PDF version of the Collector’s Guide: Piedmont is available here

Some renowned Barolo and Barbaresco ‘cru’ wines are produced in very small quantities and prices can be correspondingly high on the secondary market.

More broadly, though, Piedmont represents a source of relative value for fine wine collectors.

This updated guide focuses mainly on Barolo and Barbaresco, drawing on new data and exclusive reporting for Decanter Premium subscribers to deliver an introductory guide to top names, vintages and recent fine wine market performance.

The Burgundy of Italy?

Creative tension between tradition and modernity has at times boiled over in Piedmont, as witnessed by the so-called ‘Barolo wars’.

Bartolo Mascarello’s famous ‘No barrique, No Berlusconi’ 1998-vintage label epitomised one traditionalist view, alongside a separate political stance.

‘Tensions have eased in recent years as prosperity and compromise have prevailed,’ wrote Tiziano Gaia for Decanter in 2019.

Piedmont’s climatic diversity and the rise of single-vineyard ‘cru’ wines, alongside prized multi-commune blends, have helped to foster comparisons with Burgundy – even though Nebbiolo differs stylistically to Pinot Noir.

While Barolo and Barbaresco sit atop Italy’s wine classification pyramid, with DOCG status, many top sites are further showcased via ‘MGAs’ – Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva.

There is no premier or grand cru hierarchy, but magic certainly happens when top producers and sites combine.

Michaela Morris, Decanter Italy expert, recently named Giuseppe Mascarello, ‘Monprivato’ Barolo 2006 among her top 10 wines of 2024.

She wrote: ‘It captures both greatness of site and singularity of producer, simply haunting in its exquisitely defined nuances of hazelnut, incense, sweet herbs, raspberry tea and truffles. Fluid and racy with crisp acidity, its long-chained, textured tannins caress the mouth.’ (Score: 98pts).

Barolo and Barbaresco: Prominent producers and wines

Some producers are known for making great wines in both Barolo and Barbaresco DOCGs.

‘Bruno Giacosa’s red-label wines are among the world’s most collectible,’ wrote Morris in a guide to Piedmont reds.

‘The Asili Riserva Barbaresco stands on equal footing with the Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva Barolo.’

Wine Searcher’s 10 most searched-for Barolo wines, as of February 2025, were:

• Giacomo Conterno, ‘Monfortino’ Riserva
• Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo
• Giacomo Conterno, ‘Francia’
• GB Burlotto, ‘Monvigliero’
• Gaja, ‘Sperss’
• Bruno Giacosa, ‘Falletto Vigna Le Rocche’
• Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, ‘Monprivato’
• Luciano Sandrone, ‘Le Vigne’
• Luciano Sandrone, ‘Aleste’
• Giuseppe Rinaldi, ‘Brunate’

Wine-Searcher’s five most popular Barbaresco wines were:

• Gaja, Barbaresco.
• Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco.
• Gaja, ‘Sorì San Lorenzo’
• Roagna, ‘Crichët Pajé’
• Bruno Giacosa, ‘Asili’ Riserva.

Other top Barolo producers include:

Vietti

Pio Cesare

Aldo Conterno

Renato Ratti

Marchesi di Barolo

Cappellano

Giacomo Borgogno

Elio Grasso

Fontanafredda

Massolino

E. Pira & Figli

Ceretto

Paolo Scavino

Brovia

Elio Altare

Roberto Voerzio

Elvio Cogno

GD Vajra

Giacomo Fenocchio

Other top Barbaresco producers include:

La Spinetta

Giuseppe Cortese

Albino Rocca

Ca’ del Baio

Bruno Rocca

Castello di Neive

New generations

Several prestigious estates have been run by the ‘next’ generation for some time; Maria Teresa Mascarello, Bruna Giacosa and Roberto [Giacomo] Conterno head their namesake wineries, for instance.

Another trailblazer, Angelo Gaja, has been joined by his daughters, Gaia and Rossana, and son, Giovanni, as reported in the 2020 edition of this Collector’s Guide.

Aldo Fiordelli reviewed Giuseppe Rinaldi’s Brunate 2019 for Decanter, awarding it 100-points and noting it’s the first vintage ‘fully tended by Carlotta and Marta, following their father, Beppe Rinaldi’s death’.

He added: ‘Typically blended with 15% of the Le Coste MGA for an acid drive, its southern exposure seems to be beneficial in this austere vintage.’

Three newer projects to watch

Luca Currado and Elena Penna aren’t exactly ‘new’ names, having sold Vietti to the US-based Krause family in 2016. However, they stopped managing Vietti in 2023 to pursue their own project, under the Cascina Penna-Currado name.

In January 2024, Decanter’s Morris highlighted up-and-coming names making a range of wines across Piedmont, including Australian-born David Fletcher in Barbaresco.

Morris also mentioned ‘Lalù’, with owners Lara Rocchetti and Luisa Sala producing Langhe Nebbiolo and ‘a convincing first Barolo from Le Coste di Monforte’.

Decanter Wine Legend: Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino, Barolo 1978

Cantina Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Riserva bottling is a Nebbiolo icon and isn’t produced in every vintage.

‘This was an outstanding year,’ wrote Decanter contributing editor Stephen Brook of the Monfortino 1978, which was the first iteration of the wine sourced entirely from Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga.

Average price today: $5,409 per bottle*

*Wine-Searcher global average retail price per 75cl bottle, ex-tax.

Two more Decanter Wine Legends to seek out:

• Bruno Giacosa, Asili, Barbaresco Riserva 2004
• Gaja, Barbaresco 2001

Piedmont 2021: Vintage of the gods?

Nebbiolo has been on a good run of form in this enclave of northern Italy. There is particular excitement about Barolo’s class of 2021, with the first wines due to be released this year (2025).

With 2019 regarded as a five-star year and 2020 also well-rated, this feels like a fine time to be exploring Piedmont.

In the trade, anticipation for the 2021s is right up there with superstar years like 2016 or 2010.

‘Truly for Nebbiolo, [2021] is the vintage of the gods for consumers and collectors,’ said Brett Fleming, MD of UK-based merchant Armit Wines, which represents several producers, including Giacomo Fenocchio, Roagna and Bruno Giacosa.

Fleming noted that it was a hot and dry summer, followed by late-season rain that refreshed the vineyards.

‘The resulting wines are simply outstanding and in my 35-plus years of travelling vineyards, I have not seen anything like 2021,’ he declared.

Down through history: Six five-star years to know

It’s inevitably hard to generalise about such things as ‘the best’ vintage.

Top producers invariably make good wines year-in, year-out, and each growing season also yields its challenges and stylistic nuance.

Nevertheless, looking further back, here are six, five-star Piedmont vintages identified by Decanter contributing editor Stephen Brook in 2021:

2016

2010

2006

2001

1996

1990

Michaela Morris recently gave five stars to 2008 in her review of Barolo vintages in the ‘noughties’, giving this the edge over 2006.

Both 2015 and 2013 are also highly regarded.

‘The 2013 vintage has often struck me as a turning point for [Barbaresco],’ wrote Morris in a retrospective tasting for Decanter Premium, published in January 2024.

‘It started to usher in a young generation and new labels. Furthermore, with 2013, Gaja returned to the Barbaresco fold with the estate’s cru wines [Sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tildìn, Costa Russi], and Bruno Giacosa began producing a Rabajà bottling again.’

Release schedules

There is no fixed en primeur release period and winery schedules vary. Minimum ageing requirements run from 1 November after harvest:

Barolo: 38 months (62 months for Riservas), including 18 months in wood.

Barbaresco: 26 months (50 months for Riservas), including nine months in wood.

Some wines are aged longer prior to release and this may vary by vintage. In 2022, Aldo Fiordelli reviewed the 2013 vintage of Roagna’s Crichët Pajé Barbaresco for Decanter (97pts), noting that this vaunted wine is aged for eight years, including four in oak.

UK-based Armit Wines represents Roagna and Bruno Giacosa, and said it normally offers new releases in September and November respectively. It cautioned that its schedule wasn’t yet fixed for 2025, however.

Monfortino update

Merchant Corney & Barrow represents Roberto Conterno’s wines in the UK, tending to launch offers in October. It said recently that Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Riserva 2019 (98pts, Decanter) should be released in 2025.

It is the first Monfortino since the 2015 vintage, none being made over the course of 2016-2018.

The 2015, initially offered by C&B in 2021 at £1,995 (3x75cl in bond), was the first to contain fruit from the Arione vineyard, acquired by Roberto Conterno earlier that same year, in addition to parcels of Francia.

In October last year, C&B suggested production for Monfortino 2019 was likely to be above the average.

‘[It] will include all the fruit (for Barolo) from both Francia and Arione,’ the merchant said.

Hunting for value in Piedmont

‘Italy produces an incredible array of wines with a high quality to price ratio from both Piedmont and Tuscany, not forgetting other less famous regions, too,’ said Miles Davis, market expert at merchant Vinum Fine Wines in his February 2025 market report.

Savvy collectors and drinkers are tuning in to the opportunities on offer.

Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow, said: ‘We have increasingly found that Piedmont is something people want to do. The wines are better made than they’ve ever been.’

He also said release prices have continued to be relatively consistent, a few exceptions aside.

It’s worth trying different bottlings from producers to find styles that delight you most. Beyond Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG, the rising quality (and lower entry cost) of Langhe Nebbiolo can also offer valuable insights into a particular producer’s style.

Roero DOCG across the Tanaro river and also the Alto Piemonte area, including Gattinara DOCG, are well worth exploring, as Michaela Morris explains in her 2023 guide: Get to know Piedmont red wines in three easy steps.

Piedmont is, of course, so much more than Nebbiolo, with fascinating reds made from Barbera and Dolcetto, plus top whites produced with Timorasso and Arneis – to name a few.

Three ‘Value’ Nebbiolo wines under $50*

Antoniolo, Riserva, Gattinara 2017

96pts | $48

Lorella Zoppis Antoniolo normally releases around 20,000 bottles of this Riserva. ‘The attack is relaxing and refined, with firm, dusty, velvety tannins and crisp acidity.’ Aldo Fiordelli.

Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco 2020

94pts | $42

‘Here we have the cooperative of Barbaresco and one known as producing some of the best-priced quality wines in all of Langhe.’ Aldo Fiordelli.

Azelia, Barolo 2019

92pts | $47

‘From 5.5 hectares in Castiglione Falletto…Good concentration for a village Barolo, and one of the greatest price-quality ratios.’ Aldo Fiordelli.

*Wine-Searcher global average retail price per 75cl, ex-tax

Piedmont on the secondary market

Even the most famous Piedmont wines generally compare favourably on price to the top grand cru names of Burgundy.

Piedmont does have a secondary market presence, albeit not to the extent of juggernauts like Burgundy or Bordeaux. Prestige Champagne and Super Tuscans have also grabbed more secondary market share in recent years.

Auction house Zachys listed Piedmont as its fifth best-selling region in terms of sales value in 2024 (see chart below).

Sales realised from Piedmont wines hit nearly $2.1m, out of total wine and spirits auction sales for the year of $63.5m.

Low liquidity

Generally speaking, Piedmont is not a leading force on the secondary market, although top vintages of renowned labels can appreciate in value over the long-term.

Vinum Fine Wines’ Miles Davis said Piedmont is ‘not particularly liquid’ on the secondary market, partly due to small production volumes of individual top wines.

There is also a feeling that many collectors buy wines on release to cellar them and drink them, rather than trade them.

But the pure-investor’s loss is to the collector’s gain, as these wines – while certainly not ‘cheap’ – have not reached price-levels that elicit universal lamentation.

Top-tier Piedmont price performance

Data from Wine-Searcher and Liv-ex suggests a mixed price performance for some of Piedmont’s top-tier wines in recent years.

As a broad guide, the following table shows how average global retail prices for five top names have changed on Wine-Searcher since February 2020.

GB Burlotto is the standout name on this list, although the performance of some other labels is comparable over a longer, 10-year, period.

Wine-Searcher average prices for Conterno’s Monfortino and Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo have more than doubled since early 2015, for instance. Prices will inevitably vary by vintage, and also by market, however.

Piedmont in a sedate fine wine market

Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, tracks prices of both Piedmont and Tuscan wines in its Italy 100 index.

Data supplied to Decanter for this report shows how the Tuscan segment has outperformed its Piedmont counterpart in the last five years.

Chart title: Piedmont vs Tuscany on the Liv-ex Italy 100 index

A boom period on the fine wine secondary market, particularly between 2020 and late 2022, has given way to more subdued activity in the past 24 months.

Higher interest rates and global political and economic uncertainty have been cited as contributing factors to the current malaise.

Prices have fallen back, albeit previous gains have not been entirely eroded in all segments, as frequently reported by Decanter magazine’s Market Watch segment.

Liv-ex’s Italy 100 has been notable for its relative resilience versus other regional indices; it dropped 10.3% in two years to 31 January 2025, while the broad-based Liv-ex 1000 index fell 23.8%.

Yet, the chart above indicates that Piedmont has suffered to a greater extent than top-tier Tuscany (i.e. Super Tuscan wines) – and also didn’t rise by as much in the prior upturn.

There are always exceptions to general trends. Going beyond the Italy 100 index, Liv-ex said prices on some individual Piedmont wines have risen over the past 12 months, while others have fallen sharply.

Liv-ex risers and fallers over 12 months

Prices refer to Liv-ex Market Price, calculated in pounds sterling and calibrated to 12x75cl in bond. Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.

However, Piedmont’s relatively low liquidity – as previously mentioned – must be taken into account.

None of the wines featured above were among the five most-traded Piedmont wines on Liv-ex in the past year, in value terms.

These were:

• Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Riserva | 9.3% of Piedmont trade value
• Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo | 6.1%
• Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Francia | 3.8%
• Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco | 3.2%
• Gaja, Barbaresco | 2.8%

What next for the market?

While the fine wine market has a track record of long-term value growth, views were mixed on the nearer-term outlook.

A global survey in late 2024 by consultancy group Wine Lister found one quarter of CEOs and wine department heads expected the wine market to pick up again in 2025, but 49% of respondents said this won’t happen until 2026, and 26% said it would take until 2027 or later.

In the meantime, there could be opportunities for buyers still interested in finding gems for their cellars.

Vinum Fine Wines’ Davis said in January that ‘prestige mature Piedmont’ was one of several things to look out for in 2025.

Given the high anticipation surrounding 2019, 2020 and 2021 as a potential trilogy of very good-to-great vintages in Piedmont, it will be interesting to see how the region’s market context develops in the next few years.

Wine investment: Six things to consider

1. Some of the most prominent fine wines on the secondary market have a track record of increasing in value over time, particularly as available supplies diminish, but nothing is guaranteed. The pool of investment-grade wines is also relatively small.

2. Professional storage in bond is considered important. A wine’s condition and provenance can affect value.

3. Wine investment is unregulated. Only buy wine from reputable sources, and check provenance and condition as carefully as possible before buying.

4. Factor in costs, such as for storage, and possible selling fees. Storage is often charged at a fixed annual rate.

5. Some auction houses have previously told Decanter that full cases tend to be more in-demand, although limited-production wines may be released or allocated in smaller quantities – such as three-bottle cases.

6. If unsure, always seek professional advice.

Report by Chris Mercer for Decanter Premium. A freelance journalist and former editor of Decanter.com, Chris has written about the global fine wine market for more than a decade

Click here to join Decanter Premium now and enjoy instant access to the latest Bordeaux 2020 En Primeur Collector’s guide, as well as past Collector’s Guide’s including, Left Bank Bordeaux, Napa, Burgundy and the Rhône.

Disclaimer

Please note that this report has been published purely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial or investment advice. The report includes Wine-Searcher monthly global average retail prices in US$ to provide a consistent point of comparison, as well as data and opinion from other trade sources. All of this information is subject to change, and the prices and availability of wines cited will vary between countries, currencies and retailers. Decanter and the editorial team behind this report do not accept liability for the ongoing accuracy of its contents. Seek independent and professional advice where necessary and be aware that wine investment is unregulated in several markets. Please be aware that prices can go down as well as up.

Related articles

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• Collector’s Guide: Right Bank Bordeaux
• Collector’s Guide: Left Bank Bordeaux
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The award-winning online retailer will launch its 2021 Barolo en primeur campaign tomorrow (Tuesday 14 January).

It will feature 61 wines from 27 producers, covering seven communes: La Morra, Barolo, Verduno, Castiglione Falletto, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba and Novello.

The selection will be 50% larger than last year’s 2020 Barolo en primeur campaign. New producers include Ettore Germano, E Pira & Figli, Gian Luca Colombo, Livia Fontana, Poderi Oddero and Mauro Veglio.

Buyer Victoria Mason MW said: ‘This is a vintage Barolo lovers will want to fill their cellars with, but I also strongly believe it is the perfect opportunity for curious fine wine drinkers to dip their toe in purchasing en primeur and starting their own wine cellars.’

Most wines will be offered in cases of six. If allocations are limited, collectors will be offered cases of three or single bottles.

The offer is organised by commune. There are also three mixed cases, including an Explore the Communes of Barolo case. Prices will start from £105 for a six-bottle case of Barolo del Comune di La Morra, Ciabot Berton 2021.

Mason added: ‘The combination of accessible pricing – 25 wines in the selection come in at £200 per six in bond or under – and amazing ageing potential makes buying 2021 Barolo in bond a savvy decision, especially in the context of other more traditional fine wine regions.’

The Wine Society was named Outstanding Wine Retailer of the Year at the last Decanter Retailer Awards. It scooped five more accolades, including UK Wine Buying Team of the Year, making The Wine Society the big winner on the night.

Mason joined the retailer’s buying team last year after previously working for Waitrose and Bordeaux Index.

‘I am so excited about this vintage,’ she said. ‘The wines are exhilarating, intentional and precise. They show great complexity, length, and structure – which nudge us towards a comparison with the 2016s and the 2019s, but the 2021s show an extra dimension, or layer, of fruit; a ripe, rich generosity which is supported by powerful yet wonderfully handled tannins and balanced by vibrant freshness.’

The en primeur offer will run until the end of the month, closing on 31 January.

Mason added that the wines have ‘real identity, transmitting the distinctive personalities of their respective sites clearly and unhesitatingly’.

‘This distinctiveness of site shines through the 2021s with such absolute clarity that I am more convinced than ever of the value of getting to know the minutiae of the different vineyards of Barolo, in the same level of detail that Burgundian terroir is mapped and appreciated,’ she said.

Decanter will publish Michaela Morris’ Barolo report in March. Morris, the Piedmont regional chair at the Decanter World Wine Awards, will highlight her top selections in this eagerly anticipated report.

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Curating this annual list of my top wines of the year is always a reminder of how fortunate I am. It’s never easy to choose just 10 wines, and as with past editions, this year’s list is dominated by Tuscany and Piedmont, where I spend most of my time.

But as my love of Italian vino extends from top to toe, I jumped at opportunities to explore beyond!

Scroll down for Michaela’s top 10 Italian (and Canadian) wines of 2024

While working in wine is never a hardship, in 2024 the line between business and pleasure was more blurred than ever. A big part of that was spending a few weeks in Milan with my photographer husband.

Our time was split between checking out the fashion scene and hanging out in wine bars. Cantine Isola was a regular watering hole. Among the many cool wines I was introduced to, Marco Ferrari’s crunchy, floral and lithe 2022 Rosso di Valtellina was a contender for this list.

Being based in Milan made it very convenient to pop back and forth to Piedmont. Besides laying the groundwork for the Barolo and Barbaresco reports which I will be taking on in 2025, I ventured up to Carema where I continued to be inspired by the simmering potential of a new generation.

Then, a deep dive in Alta Langa unearthed bubble specialist Marcalberto. From a solid range across the board, the 2020 Nature Blanc de Noirs earned an unequivocal place on my list.

Timorasso and Tuscany

I also spent time in the Tortonesi hills, where Timorasso plantings are increasing at breakneck speed and new labels are emerging almost as rapidly. Among these, Vigneti Repetto stood out.

At early adopter La Colombera, Elisa Semino opened her Derthona Timorasso from 2006. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it had to be included here. What a testament to the ageability of this indigenous white grape – and Semino’s competence.

Moving south to Tuscany, I had the great privilege of attending the Chianti Classico consorzio’s 100-year anniversary celebration. Undoubtedly Italy’s most performant wine body, they took the opportunity to unveil an ambitious sustainability manifesto for the entire region.

As for the wines, the annual new release tasting presented a surfeit of gems. One of my top scorers – and top wines of the year – was Monteraponi’s 2019 Il Bragantino. This inaugural release of the estate’s first-ever Gran Selezione inspires much confidence in Chianti Classico’s top category.

I also revelled tasting through the 2021 vintage, which boasts excellent quality at all levels. A discovery for me was La Vigna di San Martino ad Argiano. My 92-point score seems stingy in retrospect. I keep citing the Riserva as one of my favourite new finds when anyone asks.

In Montalcino, Brunello 2019 was the headliner. An outstanding vintage and not austere like some can be, the wines were a great pleasure to taste. The vintage even yielded a perfect 100 points for Conti Costanti.

A striking, statuesque specimen, it evoked visceral emotion. Another stunner was from Giodo. The best ever release from the estate, it is so evocatively expressive of the munificent Mediterranean charms of Montalcino’s Sesta zone.

Puglia, Pinot and Piedmont

Venturing beyond my beaten path, I made it to Puglia, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and Valpolicella. All satisfied my thirst for Italy’s diversity and rewarded with fun finds. But above all, it was a jaunt to Alto Adige that filled my wine cup to the brim.

I have long been a fan of Cantina Terlano’s Vorberg Pinot Bianco, so to visit this revered site was something of a pilgrimage. It was equally a treat to spend time with Director Klaus Gasser and winemaker Rudi Kofler, who led me through a vertical of Terlaner Primo Grande Cuvée going back to 2012.

The latest release, 2021, achieves the harmony and complexity that Kofler aspired to from the start of the project.

Surely, I spent more time travelling than at home in Vancouver, so those spells at home were precious – and not lacking in fine Italian wine. There were many dinners with friends, like one who hosted a horizontal of 2009s from Produttori del Barbaresco (Montestefano was the wine of the night, but Muncagota also shone!).

I also did some cooking, a hobby I don’t get to enjoy when living out of a suitcase. It served me well for my ‘Barolo in the Noughties’ article, as friends were happy to open bottles from their cellars in exchange for braised rabbit and tajarin.

Clinical point scores aside, the bottle that tugged at my heartstrings was Giuseppe Mascarello’s 2006 Monprivato. If I am mentioning emotions, a nod must likewise go to Massolino’s 2002 Vignarionda: a runner-up for sure.

I even returned home from Italy specifically for Vancouver’s first-ever Festa del Piemonte. Of the dozens of special bottles hailing back to the 1960s, it was difficult to pick a favourite. However, despite coming from the mediocre 1987 vintage, Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Barolo Riserva made a lasting impression.

Back to BC

Finally, I was absolutely thrilled to submit my first ever vintage report on Canada for Decanter. The focus was on British Columbia’s excellent 2022s. Yet, it was also bittersweet. In January of this year, a sudden deep freeze decimated the 2024 crop to the tune of 97-99% loss.

Complete vine death is estimated in the 14-18% range. On a visit to the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in August, it was devastating to see the fruitless plants and vine graveyards.

Syrah, which to date has produced some of BC’s best wines, is particularly cold sensitive so the future fate of this grape is uncertain. Nichol’s Old Vines, which was my top scoring Syrah, were decimated. I bought a case and will be savouring each bottle.

For wine growers, 2024 was extremely challenging in many regions around the globe. I sincerely hope 2025 will be kinder. I am acutely aware that it is only through the resilience and tenacity of vines and growers that I continue to fill my glass with fine wine.

Michaela’s top wines of 2024

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Piedmont, in Italy’s northwest, is a prolific source of high-quality, distinctive wines, boasting more than 20 of its own grape varieties that reflect the region’s rich diversity.

As one of Italy’s vinous powerhouses, Piedmont consistently excels at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), showcasing not only its iconic wines but also its expanding scope.

Nebbiolo, the region’s most highly reputed variety, is synonymous with the prestigious denominations of Barolo and Barbaresco. However, Piedmont’s distinction extends beyond Nebbiolo, with indigenous varieties such as the white Timorasso and red Grignolino offering some of its most exciting wines today.

Notably, Grignolino made its debut in the demanding DWWA 2024 Gold medal category, while Timorasso secured a second consecutive appearance.

Scroll down to discover 15 top-awarded wines to try from Piedmont

Piedmont’s versatility extends to style, too. Asti DOCG, produced entirely from Moscato Bianco, is globally recognised for its aromatic, lightly fizzy and sparkling wines, with top Moscato d’Asti wines among the finest pairings for desserts.

Discover below a selection of Piedmont’s top-scoring wines from the 2024 competition, representing only a partial selection of the region’s diverse grape varieties, styles and appellations – both familiar and new. Explore more at awards.decanter.com

Top Piedmont performers

Broccardo, Bricco San Pietro, Barolo 2020

97 Best in Show

US$39 Binny’s

You can read the tempered heat of the 2020 summer in the vibrant, clearly defined fruits – plum, raspberry, pomegranate – lifting effortlessly from the glass. Cool alpine air in September ensured the hang time to bring clean, firm lines of soft tannin and supple acidity which marble the fruits on the back palate. It would make the perfect wine to show any Pinot-loving friends yet to be won over to the joys of Nebbiolo in its marly home soils. Alc 14.5%

Monchiero, Montanello, Barolo 2020

97 Best in Show

POA £ Cépage

The ‘lockdown’ vintage of 2020 was a propitious one for those who enjoy classicism, delicacy and proportion in their Barolo. This is genuinely fragrant, with scent layers of strawberry, pomegranate, rose and rosehip. The wine floods the mouth with intense fruit and floral flavours, transforming as you grow aware of the defining tannins and curranty acidity, then earth, humus and mushroom. Remarkable force of personality, yet in a gentle style. Alc 14%

Moscato d’Asti

Cascina Pian d’Or, Bricco Riella 2023

95 Value Gold

US$12-$15 Binny’s, Wine Cellars of Annapolis

Yellow grapefruit and sweet lemon peel percolate through this wine’s gentle fizz, with an unctuous, rounded texture and a piquant white pepper finish. Alc 5%

Colli Tortonesi

Cantine Volpi, Cascina La Zerba di Volpedo Timorasso Derthona 2022

95 Gold

£22 The Great Wine Co

Exuberant ripe peach, apricot and pineapple with a persistent mineral backbone. Very firm and compact with alluringly austere acidity and a lipsmacking chalky grip. Enchanting. Alc 14%

La Colombera, Santa Croce Timorasso 2022

95 Gold

info@lacolomberavini.it

Enthralling aromas of apple, honeyed stone fruit, hazelnut and flint. Full and voluptuous with a buttery texture, yet steely and vertical with zesty acidity. Sublime. Alc 14%

Barbera d’Asti

Emanuele Gambino, Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2020

97 Platinum

emanuelegambino.com

Cherry, blackberry and plum fruit over aromatic layers of Mediterranean herbs and earthy violets. Shining with energy and freshness, the lively pomegranate acidity and lush-textured tannins ramble towards a tangy finish. Alc 15%

Negro Maria Luigina, Gemma, Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2022

95 Value Gold

negromarialuigina.com

Glorious ripe cherries entwined with subtle vanilla characters. Delightfully verdant and fresh with robust tannins, bristling acidity and a bitter tarry twist on the finish. Alc 14.5%

Grignolino

Vinchio Vaglio, Le Nocche 2022

95 Value Gold

vinchio.com

Bounteous redcurrants, strawberries and cherries flourish alongside silky tannins and juicy acidity. Incredibly fresh and fluid with an attractive nip of pepper at the end. Alc 13%

Barbaresco

Castello di Neive, Santo Stefano, Albesani 2021

97 Platinum

£75-£80 FortyFive10°, Vinexus

Wonderful ripe raspberry aromas perfectly aligned with elegant spice and fragrant herbs. Deeply concentrated and compact with velveteen tannins, finely tuned acidity and very long, vanilla oak finish. Emanates grandeur. Alc 14.5%

Piazzo Comm Armando, Pajorè 2021

96 Gold

piazzo.it

A disarming purity of red fruit with a subtle array of chalky minerals and tobacco, furnished with fine, papery tannins, sleek acidity and an impressive persistence. Alc 14.5%

Barolo

Fontanafredda, Vigna La Delizia, Lazzarito 2020

97 Platinum

fontanafredda.it

Generous and stylish with rose petals, dried strawberries, spiced cranberries and tar, as well as a beguiling top note of orange zest. Impeccably focused with teasingly fine acidity, tucked-in tannins and a long, spiced finish. Alc 15%

Josetta Saffirio, Perno 2019

97 Platinum

josettasaffirio.com

Still in its infancy with spectacular flavours of ripe strawberry, pomegranate and fig which dance gracefully over a brooding soy and chestnut crunch. Superb tension of brisk acidity and architectural tannins, with a lingering perfume. Alc 14.5%

Damilano, Cannubi 2020

96 Gold

£97 Zonin UK, US$99 Winebow

Simmering with decadent sweet fruit and oaky nuances. Full of pep and drive with a crisp tannic backbone and cool, elegant acidity. Lengthy and moreish. Alc 14.5%

Poderi Luigi Einaudi, Monvigliero 2020

96 Gold

£47-£51.33 (ib) Crop & Vine, Jeroboams, Vinum Fine Wines, US$81-$111 Saratoga Wine Exchange, Wine Chateau, Wine.com

Captivating notes of coffee, leather, earth and tar with flecks of sweet cinnamon and allspice, supple tannins and zesty acidity, all culminating in a graphite finale. Alc 14.5%

Search all DWWA 2024 award-winning wines

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Valter: ‘We met during secondary school on the bus, in 1984… Nadia’s father [Elvio Cogno] managed Ristorante dell’Angelo in La Morra but his dream was to make wine, and so he began a relationship with Marcarini winery, making wines until 1990, when he purchased land in Ravera, Novello. He was born in Ravera and knew this cru very well.

‘We chose to buy the property and the vineyards in Novello exclusively because of Ravera [defined since 2010 as one of Barolo’s MGA (menzione geografica aggiuntiva) delimited production zones, comparable to a climat in France]. In 1991 that was a brave choice as this area was not yet known, but had a great potential for expression.

‘Initially I worked with Elvio, in 1983-1984, before going off to the army. My mother’s side made wine in Roero so I had some experience, but I never imagined in my life that I would be a winemaker; I studied at engineering school, not winemaking school.

‘All the money that Marcarini gave Elvio when he left, we spent to restore the farm… to prepare it to vinify the first vintage there. It was a lot of hard work. The vision was exactly the same as today. What has changed is our knowledge of how to vinify Ravera – it needs not less than 10 years to understand this cru.

‘Since our Nebbiolo vineyards were located exclusively in a single menzione [MGA], we were faced with a choice: to produce a single Barolo or to diversify each parcel in order to enhance its characteristics. So we began to analyse the clones of Nebbiolo, the age of the vineyards, the soils and the microclimate of each plot. It was a long and focused task, but one which today allows us to produce several Barolo wines in which the character of the MGA Ravera is recognisable, although with distinctive and complementary characteristics.

‘We make four Barolos from the same cru; it’s a Burgundy-style project. Cascina Nuova I consider our educational Barolo. I make an investment with this wine [in terms of its affordability] – Barolo has become too expensive, in my opinion. It’s important to taste and drink and learn what Barolo is – I would say Barolo Ravera best represents our vision today in terms of ageing potential and complexity.

‘We are organic, we look after the vines, and we don’t use any chemicals. We live in the middle of the vines, so it’s to preserve our health – that’s the point. In the past we did a lot of green harvesting because we pushed the vines [to produce more fruit]; today they produce less on their own.

‘In 1991, we had 10ha, now it’s 17ha; it hasn’t changed much. Our daughter Elena was born in 1991, so Nadia joined the winery a little later. But she gave me the power to improve my work.’

Nadia: ‘I remember I was seven or eight and my father brought me some Barolo to taste. I remember the strong tannins. Barolo is different today.’

Valter: ‘The 1990s were much more difficult than today because of the climate; you have a run of difficult vintages – 1991, ’92, ’93 and ’94 – then 1995 comes along and you think, “okay” – but if that vintage was today, it wouldn’t be considered very good.

‘For more than 30 years we have lived with the aim of enhancing the vineyards of this exceptional sub-zone of Barolo, so we are confident to state that Ravera is a contemporary cru, thanks to its unique characteristics that favour producing Barolos that, besides having a great ageing potential, manage to combine complexity and structure with finesse, freshness and pleasantness of drinking. I firmly believe that Cogno and Ravera represent an indissoluble symbiosis, and that Ravera is the productive, pulsating heart of Cogno winery.’

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From 9/11 and Barack Obama to the rise of social media with the birth of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, the first decade of the new millennium saw the world entering a new, for-better-or-for-worse era.

The James Cameron movie Avatar (2009) allegorised numerous themes of the day; Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (2006) elucidated climate change concerns specifically; and dark-horse film Sideways (2004) had a lasting impact on wine, most notably in the US.

In Barolo, northwest Italy, the Noughties represented a coming of age as the region emerged from a sometimes awkward but ultimately beneficial experimental phase in its production characterised by the use of barriques, rotary fermenters and short maceration times.

As the decade progressed, the ‘modern versus traditional’ debate became outdated as the divide between the two schools of winemaking thought blurred.

As the late, great Nicolas Belfrage MW pointed out in the 2004 edition of his Barolo to Valpolicella book: ‘The majority of producers today, including some of the greatest, tend to settle for a middle of the road between the two extremes.’

Scroll down for Michaela Morris’ Barolo highlights from 2000-2009

Formative period

With better-quality, cleaner wines, Barolo gained traction globally thanks to lauded vintages like 2001 and 2004.

And, as prices were already soaring for the three ‘big Gs’ – Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa and Gaja – aficionados started seeking out treasures among (then) lesser-known estates such as Cavallotto, GD Vajra and GB Burlotto: all highly regarded today.

Barolo went through an enormous growth spurt as planted area increased by more than 40% during the decade to 1,880ha in 2010, according to the regional consorzio’s technical director Emanuele Coraglia.

It was also during this time that the final groundwork was laid for the denomination’s MGAs (menzione geografica aggiuntiva: delimited production zones comparable to a climat in France), which were officially introduced with the 2010 vintage.

The Noughties weren’t without their bumps in the road, as the effects of climate change became undeniable and the decade concluded with the 2008 global financial crisis and resulting economic recession. Barolo, however, managed to weather these and has continued its steady rise.

2000 – 3.5/5

After the intensity of the 1999 build-up to ‘Y2K’, the uneventful start to the new millennium was almost a let-down. Likewise, Barolo’s 2000 vintage was perhaps overhyped. The region experienced record temperatures in August and the wines were shaped by the heat that lasted until midSeptember.

On my inaugural trip to Barolo in 2004, the nascent 2000s seduced with a sweetness of fruit and rich, full structure.

Today, the most successful show mature but not necessarily overripe aromas and are still vigorous. Others have disappointed, with oxidised fruit punished by massive tannins suggesting miscalculated winemaking.

Nevertheless, Chiara Boschis’ Cannubi defies any judgement that wines of the so-called modernists can’t age harmoniously. Towards the opposite end of spectrum, Cappellano’s Otin Fiorin Piè Rupestris (US$550 The Cellar d’Or) is gorgeously expressive, and Elio Grasso’s Ginestra Vigna Casa Matè (US$120 Fine Liquors) is in a wonderful holding pattern.

2001 – 5/5

Ideal conditions during summer with cooler weather in September allowed for slow, even maturation. The resulting wines boasted balanced ripeness with deep, earthy complexity and firm, ample structure.

Across communes and price points, they impressed upon release, though they weren’t necessarily easy going. Now they are very satisfying in their classic architecture – with the exception of the most enthusiastically oaked wines.

One of the vintage’s greatest wines, Bruno Giacosa’s Rocche del Falletto has consistently offered immense pleasure since age 18. Conversely, I wouldn’t touch Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino (in bond £994-£1,167 Appellations, Brunswick, Corney & Barrow, Cru) for another five years.

Better to crack open wines like Azelia’s Voghera Brea Riserva, which recently proved to be in its sweet spot. Even many of the region’s most accessibly priced wines such as Manzone’s Le Gramolere have stood the test of time. All the same, I would drink these soon.

2002 – 1/5

The most demoralising vintage of the 21st century thus far, 2002 was unseasonably cool, cloudy and rainy. Then, severe hailstorms in the second week of September devastated vineyards throughout the zone, most notably in the west.

Barolo production volumes were down approximately one third compared to 2001, and many producers declassified what grapes they could salvage as Langhe Nebbiolo DOC.

In more fortunate locations, such as Monforte and Serralunga, fresh and sunny autumn conditions allowed a few to coax out healthy grapes with sufficient ripeness. The vintage yielded just two Riserva wines of note: Conterno’s legendary Monfortino (£1,325-£1,600 Berry Bros & Rudd, Nemo Wine Cellars) and Massolino’s Vigna Rionda.

When I asked Franco Massolino if I might taste the latter, he graciously acquiesced. It represents a remarkable lesson to never completely dismiss a vintage.

2003 – 3/5

With record heatwaves across Europe, 2003 was the polar opposite of 2002. Beyond relentless, sweltering temperatures, the Langhe recorded a mere 265mm of rain between January and August. Vines shut down due to water stress, and uneven ripening led to an early harvest. Careful selection was essential due to sunburnt or shrivelled grapes.

Upon release, the wines largely lacked Nebbiolo’s signature aroma precision and were marked by drying tannins. With age, that astringency has been exacerbated in the vintage’s more oxidative wines.

Better examples – and there were some – aged more congruently. Nonetheless, for my palate, these reached their apogee at 10 to 15 years old.

At Giuseppe Mascarello’s estate last year, the fully evolved Monprivato (in bond £120 Hatton & Edwards) wasn’t necessarily thrilling but exhibited impressively managed tannins. Less elegant but also hanging on well was Marchesi di Barolo’s Sarmassa.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Conterno’s Cascina Francia has defied the vintage – at least in terms of ageability.

2004 – 4.5/5

After two challenging vintages, 2004 brought welcome reprieve. The long, moderate growing season and late harvest under ideal conditions allowed for ideal phenolic ripeness and development of Nebbiolo’s full spectrum of complex nuances. The only niggle was the abundant crop, which resulted in the occasional diluted wine.

I vividly recall the excitement and energy when I visited at harvest. Once released, four years later, the wines were characterised by a crunchy, mouthwatering quality; balanced, though not yet accessible.

Over the years most have lived up to that initial promise. At a recent Barolo dinner, Giuseppe Mascarello’s savoury, racy and almost fragile Monprivato (in bond £125-£213 Berry Bros & Rudd, Bordeaux Index, Bowes Wine, VinQuinn) was barely surpassed by Cavallotto’s Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe Riserva.

Alas, Domenico Clerico’s wood-driven Ciabot Mentin Ginestra spoke of a bygone era.

2005 – 3.5/5

Considered by several producers to be undervalued, 2005’s reputation as a cool, rainy vintage and the global recession simultaneous with its release (following the 2008 crash) resulted in sluggish sales. It also faced stiff competition from 2004 and 2006.

I would describe 2005 as inconsistent. Early October storms rendered picking times and fruit selection particularly crucial. Warmer, well exposed sites were favoured. Slightly angular wines sport lean fruit, and prominent acidity exaggerates tannin friction.

While they will never be round, gracious wines, some have improved over the years.

Staunch traditionalist Bartolo Mascarello died aged 78 in March 2005, passing the torch on to his daughter Maria Teresa. Their Barolo (in bond £292-£440 Berry Bros & Rudd, Crop & Vine, Justerini & Brooks) was balletic at age 10.

Five years later, Aurelio Settimo’s Rocche dell’Annunziata revealed its old-school timelessness, Brezza’s firmly vertical Sarmassa was in ascent, and Paolo Scavino’s Bric dël Fiasc (US$320/magnum Chateau Cellars) exhibited a friendlier side of the vintage.

Tasted earlier this year, Aldo Conterno’s Cicala is a wonderfully evocative rendering.

2006 – 4/5

From the start, 2006 fluctuated between warmer-than-average and unseasonably cool temperatures. Rainfall (or lack of) was similarly extreme. Bruno Giacosa, who suffered a stroke in 2006, decided not to bottle any Barolo or Barbaresco, citing the erratic conditions. Yet other producers compare it to the revered 1996 or 1999.

Austere, muscular and bracing, the wines were difficult to assess in their youth. Some, like Fratelli Alessandria’s Monvigliero (£100 in bond to £150 Mann Fine Wine, Nemo Wine Cellars) and Ettore Germano’s Cerretta promised accessibility a handful of years ago.

While the vintage’s less successful wines are starting to dry out, the better wines possess significant fruit intensity to back up that formidable structure. I have relished several rousing specimens, from Elio Grasso’s fiercely tannic Gavarini Chiniera and Oddero’s rustically characterful Vignarionda Riserva (US$190-$230 Eataly Vino, Wine Exchange), to Aldo Conterno’s haunting Granbussia Riserva (£394 Justerini & Brooks), which was one of my favourite wines of 2023.

Caressing rather than commanding, Giuseppe Mascarello’s Monprivato may very well be among my top picks in 2024.

2007 – 4/5

Warm rather than excessively hot, with moderate rainfall, 2007 was in advance throughout. Even with below-average temperatures in August, harvest was early. Still, the vines had ample time to develop healthy, ripe, sugar-rich grapes.

Fragrant and charming in their youth, the wines revealed their plush, fleshy nature from the start. Even more traditionally austere offerings were quite flashy to begin.

Up to this point, the 2007 wines have evolved in a correspondingly precocious manner. At 10 years old, both GD Vajra’s Bricco delle Viole and Elvio Cogno’s Ravera had arrived at a beautiful drinking window, demonstrating that the vintage also allowed Barolo’s cooler sites to shine.

And last year, an attractive pair of Riservas from Casa E di Mirafiore (US$188-$225 Bourbon Central, Park Avenue Liquor) and Marchesi di Barolo captured 2007’s generous but mature nature.

2008 – 5/5

The cool and rainy 2008 growing season saw fungal disease pressure persisting well into July. More than one producer has reminisced that they thought they wouldn’t harvest. Fortunately, mild, sunny weather towards the end of the summer changed growers’ fortunes.

Initially underrated, 2008 wasn’t as overtly seductive as 2007, but over time the elegantly structured, brilliantly focused wines have proven themselves and just keep blossoming. Tasted on several occasions, Vajra’s Bricco delle Viole is a stunning illustration.

The vintage also revealed the welcome transition away from a heavily oaked style, which, unlike Y2K’s low-rise jeans trend, is thankfully not poised to make a comeback.

I now seek out 2008s and have enjoyed plenty recently, such as Ciabot Berton’s silky Roggeri, Luigi Baudana’s diamond-in-the-rough Baudana, and even Voerzio’s more oak-inflected Case Nere Riserva (US$400 Vintage Wine Merchants). Earlier this year, Borgogno’s Riserva was the highlight at a 10-year release retrospective.

2009 – 3.5/5

Along the lines of 2003 but not as extreme, 2009 was neither among the region’s superlative vintages, nor a write-off, and previous experience with dry, hot vintages served producers well.

A retrospective last year demonstrated that the wines are ageing quite quickly. In some, surly tannins poked through and fruit was starting to oxidise. Others, such as Fratelli Alessandria’s Monvigliero were evolving more harmoniously.

I have thoroughly appreciated plenty of 2009s. Cogno’s Ravera showed the advantage of a cool site; however, Oddero’s Vignarionda Riserva (in bond £147-£179.33 Cru, Ideal Wine Co, Lady Wine, VinQuinn) also achieved exquisite balance. Azelia’s Voghera Riserva (in bond £87.50 Berry Bros & Rudd) and Ceretto’s Cannubi San Lorenzo (in bond £919-£945/magnum Crop & Vine, Ideal Wine Co, VinQuinn) made a strong case for old vines in difficult years.

Cannubi lived up to its lofty reputation, as evidenced by Giacomo Fenocchio, Brezza, and above all GB Burlotto (£313 in bond to £495 Crop & Vine, Crump Richmond Shaw, Wine Raks).

Barolo highlights from 2000-2009

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The village of Carema lies in a natural amphitheatre of terraced vineyards on the west side of the Dora Baltea valley, on the Piedmontese side of the regional border with the Val d’Aosta.

Below is the motorway which climbs up the valley to the Mont Blanc tunnel; above are the first high peaks of the Alps.

Ten years ago the wines of Carema and its unique terraces were in a state of decline, which seemed destined to relegate them to obscurity.

But recent years have seen a rejuvenation of the village, and so I visited the area to meet some of the producers bringing winemaking back to life.

Eight Nebbiolo from Carema listed below

Carema is made from a biotype of Nebbiolo known locally as Picotendre (the name reveals the influence of the French-speaking Val d’Aosta) or alternatively as Picotener or Picotendro.

If the wines of the Langhe are all about power and depth, Carema shows the more subtle, refined face of Nebbiolo. The combination of sandy soils and sub-Alpine climate bring out the complex aromas of the variety in wines with the classic pale shades of the variety, along with fine-knit tannins, vibrant energy, and alcohol levels hovering between 13-13.5%.

The wines of Carema tend to drink earlier than those of Barolo or Barbaresco, and one suspects they have the prerequisites to age – although the scarcity of older bottles makes that hard to confirm.

Carema’s terraces

The remarkable terraced vineyards of Carema are the epitome of heroic mountain viticulture. Supported by drystone walls which follow the contours of the hillside, they rise from around 300 metres above sea level to over 600 metres, with stamina-sapping gradients.

The terraces are completely covered by a roof of vines trained on an ingenious pergola system. Every three metres, a chestnut beam reaches from the back wall of the terrace to the wall of the one in front, where it is supported by a stone pillar.

Smaller lateral beams cross from left to right, forming a grid over which the vines extend in a tangle of vegetation above head height.

In the past, the system served to optimise space by allowing for the planting of vegetables under the pergolas – but it also has viticultural functions.

The rigid structures protect the vines from the fierce winds which blow down the valley, and the stones of the walls and pillars absorb heat during the day and release it during the night and early morning, protecting against frost.

Dying art

Pergola training also has an important influence on the character of the wines. Local enologist and producer, Vittorio Garda says that compared to wire-trained systems, pergola-grown wines have slightly lower alcohol and slightly higher acidity, which in times of ongoing climate change is a significant advantage.

There are, however, disincentives. Yields are low (an average of 40 quintals/ha) and the cost of maintaining the pergolas is high. Pruning the canopy is also a highly specialised task, which as the Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema cooperative’s agronomist, Alessio Maneglia, explains risks becoming a dying art.

For these reasons, many of the new growers are experimenting with guyot training and the simpler Veronese pergola of Soave and Valpolicella. Some of the older producers I spoke to find the trend disturbing, and they fear for the loss of Carema’s unique identity if the pergolas disappear.

The debate is destined to intensify in the coming years, as tradition and innovation inevitably come into stark contrast.

Rejuvenation

In 1967, the year Carema obtained DOC status, there were apparently 40 hectares in production in the village, and eight producers. By 2012, official data shows that the surface area was down to just 12ha and there were only two producers left: the admirable Cantina Produttori, which continues to play a vital role in sustaining production, and one independent bottler.

The reversal of this trend came in subsequent 12 years, with the arrival of six new winemakers, all of whom are now bottling wines.

‘In 10 years, we have managed to double the area under vine, from 12 hectares to 25 hectares, with at least another five hectares to come into production,’ says Gianmarco Viano, recent past president of the Giovanni Viticoltori Canavese association.

Many of the association’s members are among the new investors in Carema.

Thanks to the influx, production has gradually increased over the past four years to the equivalent of just under 80,000 bottles in 2022, and is destined to continue to grow.

Rosier future

The challenges new producers face are not insignificant. Finding vineyard to rent or buy to create a viable property is arduous in a context of highly fragmented ownership.

Many of the members of the Cantina Produttori cooperative, who could potentially supply the market, work less than a hectare of vines each.

Access to most of the terraces is solely on foot – mechanisation is a non-starter – and the logistics of winemaking are complicated in the cramped cellar spaces of the traditional stone-built houses in the village, and few have the opportunity to build new.

Despite these difficulties, I found enthusiasm and a palpable sense of momentum in the village. It is unlikely that production will ever return to the levels of 40 years ago, but there is no doubt that Carema has a future again.

And to judge by the exciting, hand-crafted wines coming out now, it will be a rosy one.

Carema: Eight wines to know

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Whether you eat at a white tablecloth restaurant or a humble trattoria or osteria, you will find numerous dazzling wine and food combinations in Barbaresco, typically at very reasonable prices.

Offering among the finest dining experiences in all of Italy, the quality of the local ingredients is the equivalent of the zone’s most revered wines.

In my previous article for Decanter, I unearthed some great places to eat in Barolo. Now, moving a few miles northeast to another site of pilgrimage for Nebbiolo lovers, we take a look at some top places to eat in Barbaresco.

Where to eat in Barbaresco

La Ciau del Tornavento

Known by locals simply as La Ciau (pronounced ‘chow’), this one-star Michelin restaurant is the most famous in the Barbaresco zone.

Located in a 1930s building that was once a nursery school, La Ciau has class written all over it. The spacious dining room with its large picture windows offers marvellous views of the local countryside, and the dishes prepared by owner/chef Maurilio Garola are just as stunning.

Highlights include plin (a local pillow-shaped pasta) flavoured with Marsala and foie gras, smoked veal breaded in grissini and hazelnut cream, and black cuttlefish cappuccino.

The wine cellar, with more than 60,000 bottles representing 450 estates, is the largest in the Langhe, and one of the most complete in Italy. Fun fact: there is also a menu for dogs.

La Ciau del Tornavento

Piazza Baracco, 7

12050 Treiso

Tel: (+39) 0173 638 333

Osteria dell’Unione

Just down the hill from La Ciau, Osteria dell’Unione has been offering classic local dishes since 1982.

It was here in 1989 that Carlo Petrini and a few friends organised the beginnings of the Slow Food movement in Italy, and this osteria has maintained that philosophy ever since.

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola, agnolotti del plin and vitello tonnato are beautifully prepared staples, while rabbit with pepperoni cooked in Barbaresco is the house specialty.

A medium-sized wine list focusing on local producers is attractively priced. Osteria dell’Unione rarely dazzles, but if it’s a classic Langhe meal at a reasonable price you seek, you’re in the right place.

Osteria dell’Unione

Via Alba, 1

12050 Treiso

Tel: (+39) 0173 638 303

Campamac

On the street leading into the main square of the town of Barbaresco, Maurilio Garola from La Ciau has opened an upscale, handsome osteria that takes the high road with service, food and setting; think of this as a classy supper club.

The focus here is on grilled meat, with numerous steaks – you can see these in one of the kitchens when you enter – along with lamb, chicken and Chateaubriand.

The wine list is extensive, with an impressive number of Barolo and Barbaresco choices; lovers of Gaja will be amazed at the verticals available. A highlight in autumn is the remarkable tartufo bianco menu that even extends to gelato.

Campamac

Strada Giro della Valle, 1

12050 Barbaresco

Tel: (+39) 0173 633 5051

Antinè

Just a five-minute walk along the same street as Campamac, Antinè is arguably the most creative dining experience in Barbaresco.

Chef-owner Manuel Bouchard, who opened this small, upstairs space in 2014, is a master of subtlety in his cooking and presentation.

Asparagus and egg, and Arctic char with dill are sublime starters, while rabbit and peppers, and cod and artichokes are terrific secondi.

The well-organised wine list offers dozens of local reds, as well as many difficult-to-find artisan Champagnes.

Antinè

Via Torino, 16

12050 Barbaresco

Tel: (+39) 0173 635 294

L’Aromatario

Combine a traditional menu and a superlative wine list with comfortable surroundings and wonderful service, and you’ll realise why L’Aromatario in Neive is one of the most satisfying dining encounters you’ll ever realise in Italy.

All the local standards, such as carne cruda, tajarin and brasato al Barbaresco are offered, with other notable options include rabbit cooked in Arneis, while codfish with paprika and a wild-herb aioli, as well as guinea fowl with polenta and carrots are not to be missed.

Yes, there are many choices for Barbaresco and Barolo on offer, but Dolcetto and Barbera are also well represented, as are many limited production Champagnes and Burgundies. L’Aromatario always draws a crowd, and local and out-of-town winemakers swear by it.

L’Aromatario

Piazza Negro, 4

Neive

Tel: (+39) 0173 677 206

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In Italy, where pairing local food and local wine is an art form, there is little argument that the Piedmont region offers more memorable gastronomic experiences than anywhere else in the country.

It’s not just the quality of the food or the superlative chefs that set Piedmont apart in this respect, it’s also the extremely reasonable pricing one can find throughout the region’s trattorie and osterie – plus, of course, the area’s stellar wines.

The Langhe, where Barolo and Barbaresco are produced, is the ideal territory to experience these glories. In an upcoming article, I will focus on Barbaresco, but for now let’s look at some of the impressive dining rooms in Barolo.

Where to eat in Barolo

Osteria Veglio

Osteria Veglio, located in a charming building just below the town of La Morra, is among the most typical of all local eateries. Owners/chefs Massimo Corso and Emanuel Marengo present a menu that updates local traditional Piemontese cuisine. While vitello tonnato and tajarin are available, you can also choose from roasted squid with chickpea cream or zucchini flowers with veal sausage for antipasti.

The main course offerings are true comfort foods, ranging from braised veal roast with mashed potatoes to roasted lamb with potatoes and rosemary. The wine list is extremely thorough, emphasising Barolo producers from La Morra yet there are also numerous choices of regional whites such as Arneis, Sauvignon, Nascetta and Chardonnay. And the view of the Barolo vineyards from the terrace is splendid.

Osteria Veglio

Frazione Annunziata, 9

12064 La Morra

Tel: (+39) 0173 509341

Tota Virginia

For a spectacular panorama, reserve an outside table at Tota Virginia in Serralunga d’Alba. This is the little restaurant that could, as proprietor Riccardo Baltrocco, a true gentleman, has made friends with seemingly every producer in the area, who in turn support him.

For a starter, the risotto with carrots, goat cheese and cumin is delicious and distinctive, as is the roast pigeon with Chinese cabbage; the seafood selection here is noteworthy, too. The wine cellar is amazing – the second-largest in the Langhe, with several thousand bottles. The focus is on Barolo, neatly categorised by commune, while the collection of Barbaresco and other Nebbiolo offerings (Ghemme, Gattinara, Roero) is extensive. There are also 13 rooms adjacent to the restaurant, each thoughtfully decorated.

Tota Virginia

Località Baudanà, 69

Serralunga d’Alba

Tel: (+39) 0173 613026

Osteria Tre Case

Osteria Tre Case is a beautifully designed dining space that was once the site of three houses (‘tre case’) just below the castle of Serralunga d’Alba. Brightly lit and airy, the theme here is simplicity, exquisitely rendered by chef, Marco Ruata, especially with the various pasta dishes.

Unlike many other restaurants in the area, a younger crowd frequents here, no doubt due to the reasonable pricing (€15-18 for a main course; €45 for a four-course degustation menu) and relaxed atmosphere. There is a small, but thoughtful wine list, and the service is attentive and enthusiastic.

Osteria Tre Case

Via Roma, 36

Serralunga d’Alba

Tel: (+39) 0173 613290

Langotto

Langotto, open for only a few years, is a hidden gem in the small town of Novello, at the southern reaches of the Barolo zone. Owner/chef Otto Lucà brings a French angle to Langhe cuisine, such as duck foie gras with Nascetta wine (a great starter), as well as lamb with mint Béarnaise sauce, anchovies and courgette.

The handsome dining room features a large picture window offering a marvellous view of this sector of the Langhe.

Langotto Ristorante

Via Giordano, 8

Novello

Tel: (39) 0173 731193

Where to drink in Barolo

If you’re tired after a long day of visiting wineries or walking the hills and merely want a relaxing meal, try È…. DiVino – La Vineria or Casa Mia. Both are wine bars in Serralunga. The former has an extensive list of wines from around the world, with an assortment of classic local foodstuffs, such as pinsa, a focaccia topped with prosciutto or mortadella.

The latter has a limited offering of favourites, such as insalata russa, along with a small list of wines by the glass and bottle. Proprietor Luigi Vico, a local producer who may also be your server, highlights his own wines, including an impressive Barolo from the nearby Prapò vineyard, and a mouthwatering Moscato d’Asti.

È…. DiVino – La Vineria

Piazza Maria Cappellano, 4

Serralunga d’Alba

Tel: (+39) 338 6087078

Email: edvino.lavineria@gmail.com

Casa Mia

Via XX Settembre 13

Serrralunga d’Alba

Tel: (39) 335 654 7772

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Azienda Agricola Montefiorito is a restored 17th century monastery that has been converted into a luxury villa.

The historic estate is located in Asti, which is in the renowned Piedmont wine region.

The 13-hectare property also includes a wine cellar, a tasting area, two apartments, a church, landscaped gardens, and a swimming pool.

Montefiorito includes 4.6 ha under vine, planted with Nebbiolo, Grignolino, Arneis and Sauvignon Blanc.

According to the listing, it is capable of producing up to 40,000 bottles of organic wine per year.

Bidding is expected to open between €1m and €2m but the estate has been assigned a guide price of €3.95m (£3.4m). Details of how to bid are available at the Concierge Auctions site.

Lodovico Pignatti Morano, owner and managing partner for Italy at Sotheby’s International Realty, said: ‘This Piedmont gem will offer its next owner a variety of potential uses, including an excellent investment for a family home or event venue.

‘Azienda Agricola Montefiorito carefully blends old-world Italian heritage with modernised living, offering a fusion of experiences that culminate in a memorable destination for calling home, visiting and entertaining.

‘Although it is a country house, you’re only an hour away from Milan and Turin, allowing you to experience the peace of rural life without being far from the excitement of the big city.’

Montefiorito is Italian for ‘flower mountain’. The name pays homage to the estate’s abundant flora and fauna. Herons, eagles, wild boars, otters, deer, foxes, wild rabbits and hares all contribute to the property’s rich biodiversity.

Current owner Ole Mikael Jensen, a Danish businessman, has overseen an extensive renovation of the estate over the past decade. He brought in the best consultants the region has to offer in order to preserve the estate’s historic charm.

Ben Podesta, director of business development for Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, added: ‘Complete with various elements of a truly elevated lifestyle, the next owner of this wonderful Italian destination will acquire not only a wonderful slice of Italian real estate, but also a history spanning more than 340 years.’

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There is an attractive blue butterfly that is known to lay its eggs in the violets of Serralunga in Barolo, in northwest Italy. Until a decade or so ago, however, as relayed to me by Isidoro Vajra, who tends the vines on his family’s Piedmont estate, Polyommatus celina’s range was generally confined to southern Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Sardinia and some other Mediterranean islands.

It’s just one of the many ways in which the climate crisis in the Langhe region can be illustrated. In what was a very warm year in terms of overall heat levels, the 2020 season can be compared to exceptionally warm years in the last couple of decades.

In his vintage report on his website, the Langhe region’s celebrated cartographer, Alessandro Masnaghetti, says that, ‘the data related to thermal sums [a measure of the accumulation of heat energy over a period of time]… in 2020 closely approached those of very hot years, such as 2003 and 2017’.

But the overall character of the 2020 Barolos is very different to what one might expect from a hot vintage. And this was down to two notable reasons: the lack of water stress across the season for the vines; and the absence of heat spikes.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for Aldo Fiordelli’s 35 recommendations from Barolo’s 2020 vintage

Tannin preservation

Heat spikes are now one of the major threats for winemakers, because of their tendency to oxidise the tannins, and the preservation of tannins has become one of the newest challenges in viticulture today. However, the aromas in the 2020s are well defined and the tannins ripe in the best examples.

‘In 2020, the rain occurred mainly at night, which was positive for the ripening of the vines,’ states Andrea Delpiano, winemaker at Giovanni Rosso in Serralunga.

But ripe tannins in a warm year requires a particular approach in the winery. ‘Compared to 2019, we used gentler extractions in 2020,’ explains Federica Boffa, now at the helm of Pio Cesare in Alba alongside his cousin.

Take the example of Maria Teresa Mascarello’s Barolo 2020. The wine underwent a long maceration on the skins, with the cap [the grape skins and solids in the fermentation vessel] submerged in the liquid for 55 days. By comparison, the 2019 vintage macerated for 30 days but without a submerged cap. At GB Burlotto in Verduno, the estate’s Barolo Monvigliero spent 33 months ageing in large oak barrels – a sign of the vintage’s quality, according to fifth-generation winemaker Fabio Alessandria.

Then again, some producers, such as fifth-generation Lorenzo Scavino at Azelia, based in Garbelletto, reduced the amount of barrel ageing in 2020, to better show off the purity of the fruit.

Testing conditions

Quality across the appellation, however, is more patchy than in 2019 or 2021. This is due to heavy rainfall on 2-3 October, which also led to hail in areas. As a result, the rain separated those who picked earlier – maybe too early? – from those who picked later.

Prunotto’s winemaker Gianluca Torrengo reports that ‘while in Barolo there were 90-100mm of rain, only 40mm fell in Barbaresco’, and furthermore, ‘in an area ranging from Cannubi [Barolo commune] to Fontanafredda [4km to its northeast], there was also hail’. Alessandria at GB Burlotto states: ‘We didn’t produce our Barolo Acclivi in this vintage, since we suffered intense hail between Verduno and La Morra [a little north of Barolo commune].’

Differences within the region were marked as well by the presence of downy mildew in the spring, which prevented perfect ripening of the tannins of the affected grapes. ‘Apart from the first four months of the year, in 2020 there was never a lack of water and indeed there were some problems with humidity, as evidenced by the widespread attacks of downy mildew,’ writes Masnaghetti.

Forward style

There isn’t one commune in particular that stands out from the others for quality. Monforte and Serralunga continue to display great consistency, though it could be argued that the wines from La Morra exhibit tannins that will prove a challenge to their immediate drinkability. Nor was the warm 2020 vintage easy for south-facing sites such as Cannubi.

The 2020 Barolos are generous and full, with more flesh on the bones even than the 2019s, but they perhaps have a shorter than average ageing window due to lower acidity and a related rise in pH. Some samples have shown a higher incidence of brettanomyces this year – a problem that, until a few years ago, was not of much concern (‘brett’ is the yeast infection that induces earthy barnyard or ‘cheesy’ aromas in mostly red wines – higher pH levels demand higher doses of sulphur dioxide to prevent its spread).

A new trilogy?

For third-generation Roberto Conterno of the Giacomo Conterno estate at Monforte d’Alba, the most recent trio of vintages – 2019, 2020 and 2021 – draws a strong analogy with 1999, 2000 and 2001. The 1999 and 2019 are both classic and austere; the 2000 and 2020 are warm and ready; while the 2001 and 2021 are of great quality, with 2021 potentially even surpassing 2001.

We’ll discover more about the 2021s next year when the wines are released, but in the meantime, the ‘butterfly Barolo’ of 2020 is a delight. In the glass, the 2020s reveal a substantial difference in colour compared to the 2018 Barolo Riservas – also released this year – with more concentration and darker hues in the former, allowing for the two fewer years of ageing.

‘With warmer vintages, even the colour of the lees has changed; nowadays, it’s darker, more vivid,’ observes Giacomo Conterno of Poderi Aldo Conterno, 2km north of Monforte d’Alba. ‘Today, more sugars are fermenting, opening up a new aromatic profile for Nebbiolo, to be exploited, not necessarily feared,’ the producer concludes.

See notes and scores for Aldo Fiordelli’s 35 recommendations from Barolo’s 2020 vintage

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Nebbiolo is the classic ‘less-is-more’ style of wine. It’s perhaps no coincidence that today – when this is a style that’s very much in vogue – demand for young Nebbiolo has increased significantly, according to Piedmont’s Consorzio di Tutela Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe & Dogliani.

Focusing on Piedmont’s main DOC Nebbiolo categories, consorzio figures reported in January 2024 show that annual production of Nebbiolo d’Alba has increased by more than a million bottles since 2016 (to 5.64m bottles in 2022).

Over the same period, production of Langhe DOC wines (within which, it must be noted, there is primarily – but not only – Nebbiolo) grew from 15.4m to 19.5m bottles a year. By comparison, Barbera and Dolcetto volumes have declined, while DOCG Barolo (14.5m) and Barbaresco (5m) have increased more modestly, by about 500,000 and 200,000 bottles a year respectively.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for Aldo Fiordelli’s top 20 Nebbiolo wines from Langhe DOC

Intricately Italian

The legislative classification is intricate: typically Italian! The two denominations of Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC and Langhe DOC Nebbiolo have differences in origin, ampelographic characteristics and ageing requirements.

Nebbiolo d’Alba comes from a specific delimited area lying outside both the Barolo and Barbaresco DOCG regions; it must consist of 100% Nebbiolo and age for at least 12 months.

By contrast, the area from which Langhe Nebbiolo can be sourced encompasses the wider Langhe and Roero region – an enormous extension of 96 communes, ranging from Cortemilia (famed more for its hazelnuts than its wine) up to Vigna Rionda, which is one of the best cru sites of Serralunga. Langhe DOC Nebbiolo must be at least 85% Nebbiolo and has no minimum ageing limits.

On paper, therefore, Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC ought to be superior and priced higher. However, in truth, it’s often the opposite, since Langhe DOC Nebbiolo can be a by-product of Barolo and Barbaresco – or come from the same vineyards, perhaps from the younger vines. In this regard, they can almost behave as ‘second wines’.

To further complicate the scenario, there are endless production interpretations: vinified in stainless steel tank and quickly released, or aged in large, neutral botti, French oak barrique, concrete, or even in amphora.

Favourable quality-to-price ratio

One of the most esteemed MGAs (menzione geografica aggiuntiva: equivalent to a ‘climat’ in France) from which Langhe Nebbiolos can be sourced is Valmaggiore. Located in the Roero (DOCG) commune of Vezza d’Alba, Luciano Sandrone, Bruno Giacosa and Mario Marengo produce examples that have become cult favourites.

One of the most expensive wines comes from the young vines of Vigna Rionda in Serralunga d’Alba (within Barolo DOCG): the Ester Canale Nebbiolo by Giovanni Rosso. Another gem, perhaps less known but equally deserving, is produced by Monchiero, from vines in Treiso (not of sufficient quantity to justify Barbaresco production) and from the north side of Monprivato hill in Castiglione Falletto.

These are fragrant, fresh, refined and complex wines, with the best examples showcasing elegance even in their tannins. In comparison with Barolo and Barbaresco, Langhe Nebbiolo may have less depth, concentration and ageing potential, yet climate change has made this grape increasingly elegant and approachable in its youth, thanks to lower acidity and riper tannins.

Indeed, top Piedmont producers such as Angelo Gaja and Giacomo Conterno (Aldo Conterno) often emphasise the higher consistency of recent vintages compared to those of the 1970s.

The result is that Nebbiolo has become more enjoyable to drink when young. So good, in fact, that several 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo wines compare favourably with some non-MGA Barolos from 2018.

‘Langhe Nebbiolo is somewhat outperforming classic Barolo, [which is] mostly being requested by the big monopoly tenders, high-volume retail or duty-free markets,’ says producer Luca Monchiero.

Ranked beneath classic Barolo and its top MGAs it may be, but the undeniable fact is that Langhe Nebbiolo offers Nebbiolo fans an outstanding quality-to-price ratio. Less is more, indeed!

See notes and scores for Aldo Fiordelli’s top 20 Nebbiolo wines from Langhe DOC

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Italian wine is in full swing. While the leaders of the quality revolution of the 1980s and 1990s are progressively passing the baton to the next generation, new faces are also rising to prominence.

Whether they are modernising family businesses or starting from scratch; whether they have studied oenology or have a different background – for all of them, the challenge today is the market, unstable and moody, marked by a radical change in eating habits and by a young public disaffected with wine.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores from 10 future Italian greats

Not even the climate offers certainty to those whose ceiling is the sky. A possible solution could be provided by biodiversity: olive groves and cereal plantations often grow next to vineyards. Wine is no longer the undisputed protagonist, and even the role of the oenologist consultant is reduced: new winemakers often create their own wines, taking on the risk of their own choices.

The trend of the new generation is towards fresh and pleasant wines, without compromising complexity and elegance; a result achieved thanks in part to refinement in materials more neutral than wood, such as concrete and clay amphorae, which better preserve the pure expression of the terroir.

Below, 10 major names in Italian wine point to the rising star in their respective region – for once, the arduous task of predicting the future is left to the interpreters themselves, not to journalists! This article is also another sign of the times: even the world of wine, once egocentric and competitive, seems increasingly open to dialogue and comparison; an encouragement to the new guard. And the winery is…

Piedmont

La Briccolina di Tiziano Grasso Serralunga d’Alba

Nominated by Massolino

Winemakers in Piedmont have passionately experienced the changes and developments in the world of viticulture over the last 40 years, attributing a strong cultural value to wine. In the Langhe region of the 1990s, the intense confrontation that arose between ‘traditionalists’ and ‘modernists’ led to the well-known ‘Barolo wars’, which are now the stuff of novels and screenplays.

Today, the waters are calmer, but Roberto Massolino, co-owner of the successful Massolino winery in Serralunga, which established itself in those years of turmoil, weighs his words carefully when he talks about the future: ‘I still focus on Barolo wine, especially on its sub-zones to be rediscovered. La Briccolina winery, founded by Tiziano Grasso with the 2012 vintage and currently run by his widow Simona Stralla together with son Daniele Grasso, insists on the Briccolina MGA area, a historic plot in Serralunga, and helps to make it known to enthusiasts.’ Although the family owns 6ha of vines, the one wine produced is sourced from 0.4ha of old-vine Nebbiolo in the Briccolina MGA. +39 0173 380231

La Briccolina di Tiziano Grasso, Briccolina, Serralunga d’Alba, Barolo, Piedmont 2019 95 points

For many years, the Grasso family has nurtured the Briccolina vineyard, at 330m-390m with excellent exposure, but only started bottling wine made from its grapes in 2012. This Barolo – aged for two years in 25hl oak barrels – offers aromas of violets, red plum, chinotto and sweet spices. It is velvety in the mouth, with compact tannins and a long finish. Classy.

Drink 2024-2035 Alc 14.5%

Veneto

Gentili Caprino Veronese

Nominated by Allegrini

‘The generational transition in wineries usually happens quite late, with the risk of losing precious energy,’ believes Francesco Allegrini, who runs the family company in Fumane, Veneto. A representative of Valpolicella around the world, he is well placed to discuss generational change, having recently inherited a share of the winery from his father Franco, who died in April 2022.

Franco, along with his father Giovanni, certainly didn’t lack the energy to build the Allegrini brand since the 1960s. For Francesco, born in 1987, the biggest challenge is to do with climate change. He says: ‘The cool area of Bardolino, between Lake Garda and Monte Baldo [on the eastern side of the lake], has an advantage. Local wineries are working on the idea of a refined and enthralling wine. I particularly appreciate the interpretation of Bardolino by Gentili winery.’

Bardolino is a misunderstood red, despite being produced with the same grapes as Amarone. Siblings Enrico and Elisa Gentili began their winemaking adventure in 2017 – their father Carlo used to sell wine in bulk – and their Bardolinos recall the most elegant expressions of Valpolicella. cantinagentili.com

Gentili, San Verolo Bardolino, Montebaldo, Veneto 2021 93 points

Aromas of black cherry, small black fruits, aromatic herbs and cinnamon chase each other and then mingle. Vibrant, succulent, correctly acidic and graceful. This 80% Corvina, 20% Rondinella blend comes from the Valpozzo vineyard in Costermano sul Garda, which rests on morainic, sandy-loamy soils typical of the eastern shoreside of Lake Garda. After fermentation in steel, the wine ages for 12 months in terracotta and ceramic containers. Drink 2024-2028 Alc 12.2%

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Le Due Terre Prepotto

Nominated by Livio Felluga

Livio Felluga himself, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 102, personified Friulian viticulture. Beginning after World War II with the restoration of the vineyards on Rosazzo hill, today, his heirs cultivate about 160ha of vines on a 228ha estate in the Collio and Colli Orientali areas, close to the Slovenian border in Italy’s far northeast.

The Livio Felluga winery – also famous for the Carta Geografica (an ancient map of the Friulian hills) on its labels – paves the way for a new map of Friulian wines. ‘Truly more than a new zone, I’m thinking of a new face’, says Andrea Felluga, Livio’s son. ‘Cora Basilicata is giving a decisive turning point to Le Due Terre winery, founded by her parents Flavio and Silvana. Being an oenologist, she focuses on increasingly refined wines – a pure expression of the gifted terroir of origin, Prepotto.’ Le Due Terre owns 5ha of vineyards and has risen to prominence for its role in the re-evaluation of skin-macerated white wines. It also produces excellent reds. +39 0432 713189

Le Due Terre, Schioppettino, Friuli Colli Orientali 2019 93 points

Made from the native Colli Orientali variety Schioppettino, this is a juicy red with overwhelming energy (Schioppettino means ‘crackling’ in the local dialect). It offers notes of Morello cherries, blackberries, currants and white pepper, flowing with agility and fragrance across the palate, and finishes incisively. After fermentation in concrete and resting in contact with the skins for 30 days, it ages for 30 months in barriques. Drink 2024-2028 Alc 13.5%

Tuscany

Tenuta Cafaggiolo Scarperia and San Piero

Nominated by Marchesi Frescobaldi

How does it feel to have 700 years of family history behind you? ‘It might be even more, according to the latest research!’ says 30th-generation Lamberto Frescobaldi, proud bearer of one of the most illustrious surnames in Italian wine, synonymous with Tuscany and winemaking excellence.

With his family, he heads eight estates in the main terroirs of the region – plus a small winery on the penitentiary island of Gorgona: nothing escapes his radar in Tuscany. ‘An area still to be discovered is Mugello, just north of Florence,’ Lamberto explains. ‘A green valley at the foot of the Apennines, crossed by the Sieve river, its cool climate is congenial to Pinot Noir, as shown by the excellent work done by [former] Podere Fortuna winery.’

The owners of the Podere Fortuna farm, the Lowenstein family, decided recently to rebrand under the name of the historic estate, ‘Tenuta Cafaggiolo’. It was among the first wineries in the region to believe in Pinot Noir and has been bottling delicious examples since the early 2000s. tenuta-cafaggiolo.com

Tenuta Cafaggiolo, Fortuni Pinot Nero, Tuscany 2018 95 points

Clear aromas of wild blackberry and cranberries, with ferrous and spicy notes in the background. The mouthfeel is sapid, with an acidic vein that gives verticality and elegance, and a long finish is marked by a refreshing balsamic hint. Comes from the estate’s oldest vineyard, fermented for about 20 days in oak vats and aged for 12 months in French oak barrels (50% new). Drink 2024-2032 Alc 13%

Marche

Campanelli San Paolo di Jesi

Nominated by Pievalta

At the helm of Pievalta, Alessandro Fenino has clear ideas. The respected producer has been central in driving the rise in quality and success of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi in the last 20 years, and was one of the earliest adopters of biodynamics in the Marche region, receiving certification in 2008. ‘Verdicchio must focus on zoning to enhance the terroir, and Francesco Campanelli is working in this direction,’ says Fenino. ‘His idea of vinifying different plots of Verdicchio grapes with the same procedures, in order to capture the slightest nuances given by different soils and microclimates, opens up interesting scenarios.’

Remarkably, Campanelli only started making wine in 2021. He produces three Verdicchios from three vineyards, respectively located in San Paolo di Jesi (nearest of the three to the Adriatic coast), Cupramontana (on the central hills of the region), and Serra San Quirico (furthest inland, and subject to Apennine influences). The results are surprising, thanks to the many facets that each of his wines manages to express. They are a further confirmation that vineyard mapping would guarantee a definitive leap in quality for Verdicchio in the region. campanellivini.it

Campanelli, Palombare, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore, Marche 2021 94 points

£17.50 Callmewine

Notes of wild flowers, white peach and citrus fruits. Juicy and broad, it hits the palate with lively acidity, leading to a long and harmonious finish with a pleasant almond aftertaste. The first vintage of this Verdicchio comes from an estate vineyard where the average vine age is more than 30 years. Aged in steel and concrete. Drink 2024-2028 Alc 13.5%

Umbria

Argillae Allerona

Nominated by Lungarotti

Umbria is known to wine enthusiasts largely thanks to the far-sighted work of the Lungarotti family. When it was released, the 1964 vintage of its Vigna Monticchio Rubesco Riserva was one of the first single-vineyard wines in Italy. The family was instrumental in the creation, in 1968, of Torgiano Rosso, the region’s first DOC. In 1974, Giorgio and Maria Grazia Lungarotti also created the pioneering MUVIT wine museum.

Today, Teresa Severini Lungarotti, who manages the family winery with her sister Chiara, reflects on the future of Umbrian wines: ‘We need to give space to young people, who grasp the spirit of the time. I think of Giulia Di Cosimo and her dynamic management of Argillae, which is dedicated to the production of wine and oil, among woods and gullies, close to Orvieto.’ Born in 1988, Di Cosimo is exploring the potential of Umbrian white grapes – Grechetto, Procanico, Drupeggio – with vinification in amphorae, and sparkling wine production. With the Signorelli 500 label, Argillae is supporting the restoration of Orvieto cathedral, which is decorated with Renaissance frescoes by Luca Signorelli. argillae.eu

Argillae, Primo d’Anfora, Umbria 2020 94 points

Notes of elderberry, hawthorn flowers and musk prelude a tannic, rich and rounded palate. On the finish, an acid-savoury vein gives freshness and balance. A blend of 60% Grechetto, 20% Drupeggio and 20% Malvasia from the oldest estate vineyard (45 years), this is an intriguing white wine, at once archaic and futuristic. Complex and refined. The clay that gives the winery its name and nourishes the vines is also the material in which Giulia Di Cosimo’s most ambitious wine matures. Drink 2024-2028 Alc 13%

Campania

Aroma Winery Montefalcione

Nominated by Mastroberardino

Founded in the 1750s, during Bourbon times and well before the unification of Italy, Mastroberardino, based in Atripalda, Avellino, has experienced eras of great splendour for Campanian wines, as well as difficult moments – especially in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 1980, when the company represented the last bastion against the abandonment of the land as most activity ceased or moved towards the coast. An authoritative voice, therefore, with respect to the future of winemaking in the region. ‘Today, many young people produce quality wine, fortunately,’ says winemaker and owner Professor Piero Mastroberardino. ‘However, the challenge is to sell it.

Aroma Winery, owned by Raffaele Noviello, has been able to make its way in increasingly competitive markets.’ Born in Irpinia in 1980, Noviello founded Mont’Antico winery at the age of 24, renaming it Aroma Winery in 2014. A follower, although not rigidly, of tradition, it produces classic local wines (Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino), as well as ancestral-method sparkling wine, late-harvest wine and grappa. aromaiw.com

Aroma Winery, Apianum, Fiano di Avellino, Campania 2021 93 points

Notes of peach, magnolia and hazelnut lead to a smooth, richly structured palate with freshening acidity and a savoury character, and then a persistent finish. Fully expresses the nature of the territory. Apianum was the ancient Roman name for wine made from Fiano (a reference to the bees drawn to the intensely sweet flesh). Drink 2024-2028 Alc 14%

Puglia

I Parieti Gioia del Colle

Nominated by Gianfranco Fino

‘The ancient name of our land, expressed in the plural, Le Puglie, helps to capture the enormous differences of a 400km-long region where even wine cannot be expressed in the singular,’ says Gianfranco Fino, the winemaker at his eponymous estate in Manduria. With his provocative charisma, Fino has revolutionised the image of Puglian viticulture over the past 20 years, offering up an interpretation of Primitivo that combines austerity and opulence. After careful reflection, Fino nominates I Parieti, Matteo Santoiemma’s winery near Gioia del Colle.

After a career in wine sales and marketing, Santoiemma returned to his homeland on the enchanting karst plateau of the Murge to give new impetus to the family farm. ‘His commitment to viti ad alberello [head-trained bush vines, a style of cultivation in which sapling vines are planted in shallow holes] surrounded by dry stone walls – parieti, in the local dialect – is commendable, and his wines, whether Primitivo or whites based on Verdeca and Minutolo grapes, all combine tradition and contemporary elegance.’ I Parieti also produces olives and cereals. iparieti.com

I Parieti, Tatarànne Primitivo, Puglia 2022 94 points

This Primitivo is a triumph, offering aromas of Morello cherries, plums, wild herbs and spices, including pepper and liquorice. In the mouth, it’s irresistible and energetic, with a dynamic acid-savoury tension leading to a crisp red-fruit finish. Dedicated to winemaker Matteo Santoiemma’s grandfather (tatarànne in the local dialect), who inspired his return to the vineyard. Drink 2024-2030 Alc 14%

Sicily

Graci Castiglione di Sicilia

Nominated by Donnafugata

Sicily never ceases to fascinate: a Mediterranean microcosm with a long history of invasion and occupation, today effectively a large vineyard and trendy wine laboratory. Since 1983, Donnafugata has contributed, with its wines and cultural initiatives, to carving out the image of this fiercely independent island. From its headquarters in Marsala, at the island’s western end, owner Antonio Rallo looks far ahead and focuses on Etna (on the eastern side) as the terroir of the present and future.

‘The best energies of our island come from the volcano,’ he says. ‘I think of Alberto Graci’s work – a young producer already representative of this area that’s so important for Sicily. His vineyards are among the most beautiful, his wines increasingly good. The new investments in the cellar testify to his determination.’

Rallo also highlights Graci’s attentive abilities in communication and involvement in the Di-Vino (Digital Innovation Wine Experiential Marketing) project, aimed at enhancing knowledge of and conserving Sicily’s dry stone walls, an inimitable part of the island’s winemaking history.

Graci, Arcurìa, Etna Bianco, Sicily 2021 95 points

£51 Berry Bros & Rudd; $70 AOC Selections

Citrus fruit, lemon peel, orange blossom and broom aromas anticipate a tense, juicy and thirst-quenching palate with exciting minerality. From the Arcurìa contrada in Passopisciaro, on the northern slope of Mount Etna at 600m, where the soil is made up of dark sand studded with lava rocks, this 100% Carricante is aged partly in large oak barrels and partly in concrete. Organic. Drink 2024-2030 Alc 12.5%

Sardinia

Olianas Gergei

Nominated by Argiolas

Antonio Argiolas (1906-2009) was the undisputed patriarch of Sardinian viticulture. With the collaboration of the legendary oenologist Giacomo Tachis, he created iconic labels known throughout the world. Today, the new Argiolas generation is focused on quality across the board. Valentina Argiolas, Antonio’s granddaughter, is in no doubt about the future of viticulture: ‘The game is played on the environment and its defence. The excellence of a wine begins with the health of the vineyard and continues with good cellar practices. On our island, Olianas is carrying out admirable work in this direction.’

Founded by oenologist Stefano Casadei and the Olianas family in 2002, the winery has its headquarters in Gergei, the agricultural-pastoral heart of Sardinia. Olianas produces wines exclusively from native varieties – including Cannonau, Bovale, Vermentino and Semidano – having developed a overarching management protocol that’s in line with biodynamic practices and includes the use of horse-drawn ploughs, fermentation using indigenous yeasts and ageing wines in amphorae. olianas.it

Olianas, Le Anfore, Cannonau di Sardegna, Sardinia 2021 95 points

A riot of myrtle, juniper liquorice and laurel anticipates a vertical and energetic palate. Acidity and minerality soften the structure, giving an elegance that’s underlined by velvety tannins and a persistence on the finish. Classy. Long fermentation on the skins (30-40 days) helps to enhance the wine’s wealth of aromas, the work completed by maturation in terracotta amphorae for six months. Organic. Drink 2024-2032 Alc 14%

See notes and scores for wines from 10 Italian producers lauded by their peers

Wines are ordered by colour and score

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When you attend an event titled, ‘The tasting of a lifetime’, you can be fairly certain there will be some rather interesting wines on show. And when the winery in question is Gaja, you’d better be ready for some very special bottles!

That was certainly the case when the family visited London last October, gathering an impressive audience of journalists, sommeliers, buyers and more in the beautiful ballroom at the Dorchester – and assembling an even more impressive array of wines from throughout the winery’s distinguished history.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for Gaja’s wines from the 2020s to 1950s

Gaia Gaja may be the international face of the family these days, but it was heartening to see that her father, Angelo (now 83) and her brother, Giovanni, had also been able to make the trip so soon after the harvest, presenting a united front. Angelo will likely never really retire, but his three children (Rosanna was not present at the event) have taken over the day-to-day operation of the company.

And so, while celebrating the past, there was a strong focus on the future. For instance, the family were keen to speak about their ‘white wine project’ which includes a new, dedicated white wine facility with its own winemaking team, and the inclusion of some high-altitude fruit from vineyards in Alta Langa. ‘We see the potential of making our white wines in Alta Langa,‘ declared Gaia.

It’s certainly a big investment, however they clearly see the benefit of these higher, cooler sites in the face of increasingly hot and dry summers. ‘I believe the new winery will allow us to be more flexible,’ added Angelo.

Gaja: A brief history

The Gaja family’s wine history began in the mid-19th century, when Angelo’s great-grandfather, Giovanni, used to sell his wine at the family’s little osteria. But it was his daughter-in-law, Clotilde Rey, who set the foundations for Gaja’s future by acquiring more vineyards and improving quality in order to demand higher prices.

Clotilde’s son, Giovanni, continued in a similar vein, acquiring more land and pursuing quality. He was also the first to emblazon the bottles with ‘GAJA’ in large type on the label – an exercise in branding that continues today.

Giovanni’s son, Angelo, joined the winery aged 21 in 1961. He worked tirelessly among the vines until 1968 when he got his big break and was finally allowed into the cellar. Ever since, the Gaja name has projected the twin ideas of innovation and quality, combining modern thinking with the heritage of the family business: Angelo was one of the first Italian winemakers to work with barriques, and actively embraced international varieties alongside the local Nebbiolo.

In the late-1970s, Angelo had secretly planted Cabernet Sauvignon right in the heart of the village of Barbaresco, literally under the nose of the mayor’s residence – who happened to be his father. ‘Darmagi’ was Giovanni Gaja’s response when he was told about the vineyard, meaning ‘what a shame’ in the local dialect. Two generations later, the family view is slightly different: ‘It represents the identity of my father…the curiosity,’ said Gaia. ‘The future is for curious people,’ added Angelo, with a wry smile.

Keen to push himself with new challenges, Angelo purchased the Pieve Santa Restituta estate in Montalcino in 1994, closely followed by the purchase of Ca’Marcanda in Bolgheri in 1996. More recently, he began collaborating with local producer, Alberto Graci on the IDDA project on Etna in 2017, bringing a Piemontese approach – and Angelo’s eye for innovation – to the volcano’s wines.

Sorí San Lorenzo was one of Barbaresco’s first single-vineyard wines when the 1967 vintage was released. This was followed by the release of the 1970 Sorí Tildin (which marked its 50th vintage in 2023 with the 2020 bottling) and Costa Russi (1978). In 1996, Angelo infamously declassified these three great cru wines from Barbaresco DOCG to Langhe DOC, in order to include around 5% of Barbera with the Nebbiolo: he was keen to return to a traditional recipe commonly seen in the first half of the century, before the foundation of the Barbaresco DOC in 1966 (it became a DOCG in 1980). Angelo’s decision stood until 2013, when his family persuaded him to revert to 100% Nebbiolo and to declare the crus once more as Barbaresco DOCG.

Groundbreaking

In 2004, Gaja was one of the first wineries to employ the services of Simonit & Sirch, who introduced a new way of pruning the vines to minimise what Marco Simonit calls ‘wounding’ of the plant, helping to extend the productive life of the vine and to reduce the chance of trunk diseases such as Esca. ‘It took 10 years for the vines to adapt,’ notes Gaia. Today, Simonit & Sirch are in demand across the globe.

Also in 2004, Angelo changed coopers and reduced the amount of new oak – just at the time that the use of new oak was reaching its apogee with winemakers, journalists and consumers alike. This decision, despite prevailing trends, has helped to give Gaja’s wines more transparency in recent years.

Angelo has broken new ground at every turn; from planting Cabernet in the centre of Barbaresco town, to being among the first to employ viticultural pioneers, Simonit & Sirch. From leaving the Barbaresco denomination, for which the estate had been a leading light, to launching projects in Tuscany and Sicily.

Despite approaching his mid-80s, with Angelo (Decanter Hall of Fame recipient in 1998) at the helm the winery is in rude health. But what has become abundantly clear is that its future looks just as bright as its past has been.

Tasting a lifetime’s work

While all the wines tasted were fascinating in their own rights, there were three that really stood out:

1964 Barbaresco is an absolute time capsule: Angelo was still working in the vineyards, not yet invited into the cellar. It was in this year that the village of Barbaresco was connected to a mains water supply for the first time, which Angelo explained was a turning point for the winemaking – previously, wells were utilised as the main water source, which was impractical and less hygienic. Finally, the Nebbiolo was harvested in mid-November, far later than in today’s warmer climate, which just serves to underline the climate crisis.

2001 Barbaresco is from an excellent vintage for Nebbiolo in Barbaresco. It was made at a time when more new oak was used, and is also the sole example from the estate of a Barbaresco DOCG – the single vineyard wines at this point were declassified as Langhe DOC.

Sorí San Lorenzo Barbaresco 2020 is the current release of one of Gaja’s three acclaimed single-vineyard wines. One of Barbaresco’s first ‘cru’ releases when it launched with the 1967 vintage, it remains to this day one of the finest examples of Nebbiolo within the Barbaresco area – and even beyond. The 2020 stands out for its fragrance and sapidity; both delicate and tense with plenty of depth.

Notes and scores for Gaja: 1958-2020

Wines poured spanned the winery’s impressive back-catalogue, covering the 2020s, 2010s, 2000s, 1990s, 1980’s, 1970s, 1960s and 1950s, giving an extraordinary overview of an estate (and a man) who has done much to define modern winemaking in Italy.

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Early last year, Elena Penna and Luca Currado seized the opportunity to purchase the historic Cascina Lazzarito, which crowns the Lazzarito cru at the entrance to the village of Serralunga d’Alba. Built in 1554 and originally called Santa Giulia, the farmhouse was owned by the Marchesi Falletti before being passed onto the Opera Pia Barolo (a charitable institution).

Cascina Lazzarito boasts sweeping views of the Barolo region. According to Penna it is: ‘A magical place where we can start our new family voyage.’ They immediately set about restoring it according to UNESCO’s stringent guidelines.

Concerning the vineyards, the family has pieced together approximately 20 hectares. The lease of 13 contiguous hectares in the hamlet of San Sebastiano was facilitated by a 20-year friendship with the estate’s former owners. While within the Monforte d’Alba township, it sits just outside the Barolo zone.

Penna describes its positioning as strategic, particularly with respect to climate change. The vineyards look towards the mountains and are moderated by cool outflows. The property also boasts forest and a small natural lake, which will prove to be an advantage in arid vintages when emergency irrigation is permitted. ‘This site has everything for the future,’ she said.

The first wines under the Cascina Penna-Currado label hail largely from the 2023 vintage and will be released later this year. Alongside a Langhe Nebbiolo and Dolcetto d’Alba from the San Sebastiano property, the range includes a Timorasso from a 2.5-hectare leased plot in the Colli Tortonesi.

The 2023 Barbera d’Alba and Nebbiolo d’Alba will follow in 2025, while the 2023 Barolos will be launched in 2027. For the latter, Penna and Currado secured several long-term rental contracts of 20 to 25 years totalling five hectares.

‘We control everything in the vineyard from A to Z,’ Penna said. The estate’s calling card will be the ‘classic’ Barolo which blends plots in the villages of Verduno, Barolo and Monforte d’Alba. It will be complemented by two Barolo MGA bottlings. Without disclosing their specific identities, Penna simply says that they are among the denomination’s most highly regarded. ‘We are very proud of what we were able to do in just a few months,’ she stated.

After selling Vietti to American business mogul Kyle Krause in July 2016, the couple’s non-compete agreement expired in 2019. However, they continued managing the property until January 2023. They waited for this split before assembling the elements of Cascina Penna-Currado.

Total production is currently a projected 70,000 bottles. ‘We wanted something we could manage as a family,’ said Penna.

While the couple’s children, Michele and Giulia are already involved, they are still in university. Both plan on joining their parents full time after completing their studies and internships at other estates.

Penna underlines that this is a new project with potential to evolve. ‘We are in our mid-fifties and still have plenty of ambition,’ she said.

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Michaela Morris is an international wine writer, contributor, judge and educator. She is one of the first certified Italian wine experts through Vinitaly International Academy 2015, co-created the curriculum for VIA’s Italian Wine Maestro course and teaches about Italian wines across Canada and abroad.

Morris always had an interest in wine but, as she explained to Decanter, she never considered a career in the industry. That is – until a linguistics course at university led her to Burgundy.

Today, with over 20 years experience in the wine industry, Morris has worked as a fine wine importer in Canada, run Bordeaux en primeur campaigns for a private retailer and launched her own company, offering cellar management and wine tastings.

Even after all her achievements, she commented, ‘there is always something else to learn… It has become almost cliché to say that the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know, but it’s true.’

This year at Decanter World Wine Awards, Morris will join Stephen Brook as joint Regional Chair for Piedmont. Ahead of judging this May – and with entries closing soon on 15th March – we get to know more about Morris, including her proudest achievements, recommended regions to watch and advice for producers.

Tell us about yourself briefly. How did you get into the wine industry? 

I was studying linguistics at university and during an exchange year in Toulouse, I had to write a dissertation on anything to do with French culture or civilisation. I already had an interest in wine as I was working in fine dining restaurants to pay for my schooling, so I honed in on the tradition and terroir of Burgundy.

I spent a couple of weeks in the region doing research when it just happened to be their biennial wine show – Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne. I was at a tasting at Clos de Vougeot when I had that lightbulb moment. Until then, I had never considered that a career in wine even existed.

When I returned to Canada, I got a job at a private wine boutique and ended up running their Bordeaux Futures campaign. I then went on to work for a premium wine import company that specialized in Italian wine and started my own company offering private and public wine tastings as well as cellar management.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I can’t say there is a typical day for me, except when I have my head down and am writing a big report. On those days, I just try to remember to come up for air and go for a run, do yoga or garden.

Otherwise, on any given day, I might be touring a wine region, visiting producers at their estates, attending a wine trade show, trying upwards of 100 wines at a regional or new release tasting, judging a wine competition, moderating a seminar or leading a masterclass. While my homebase is Vancouver, I spend at least three months of the year in Italy as well as a few weeks in the UK where I have family.

What is your proudest achievement so far?

I’ve counted various achievements throughout my career – helping build a local import company to a national entity, running my own business for 13 years, passing the WSET Diploma, earning the top mark in Vinitaly International’s inaugural year.

I was also honestly thrilled to start writing for Decanter. I read the magazine religiously when I first got into the wine industry – and still do. Now I am focused on my next goal of writing my first book.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in the industry so far?

There is always something else to learn. Just for starters – in Italy. It could be an obscure grape, a little-known region, a new producer…

It has become almost cliché to say that the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know, but it’s true. Which means constantly staying engaged and being curious.

Which wine producing regions or grape varieties would you encourage people to explore?

There is so much to discover in Piedmont beyond the celebrated wines of Barolo and Barbaresco.

Langhe Nebbiolo can offer such great value for money, and off-the-beaten-track regions of Carema, Lessona, Bramaterra and Gattinara demonstrate different and thrilling expressions of this noble grape. Don’t overlook Valtellina in neighbouring Lombardy as well.

Back in Piedmont, I am also particularly captivated by the Pelaverga Piccolo, Grignolino and Timorasso grape varieties.

What do you find most inspiring in the wine world right now?

The young generation who is shaping the future. In a very traditional region like Piedmont, they recognise how lucky they are to inherit such a legacy and are very respectful about the work their parents did. They continue to move the region forward.

I am also inspired by all the innovation and adaptation with respect to climate change. It is easy to get discouraged but when I see the resilience and composure of producers facing challenges and focusing on solutions, it gives me hope.

What do you look forward to most as the new joint Regional Chair for Piedmont?

I am looking forward to working with my joint Regional Chair counterpart, Stephen Brook, who has a vast knowledge of the wines of Piedmont.

I am equally eager to judge with colleagues who share a similar passion for the region and its wines. And of course, I am excited for the cornucopia of grapes and styles. I am not sure there is any Italian region quite as varied as Piedmont – with still wines as well as traditional and tank method sparklers; dry versus sweet; aromatic to discreet; red, white and pink; light to full-bodied; youthful to complex and aged.

Do you have advice for DWWA entrants who don’t win a medal?

Don’t be discouraged! Take a look at wines in the same category that did win medals and, if possible, find a few to taste, preferably blind, to benchmark yours against these.

Also read the Co-Chairs’ comments about the wines that won Best in Show. There is a lot of insight here into what sets a wine apart.

What is an interesting fact that people might not know about wines from Piedmont?

While Nebbiolo gets all the glory, Barbera is Piedmont’s most planted grape. It’s also what the local producers love to drink. And after tasting Nebbiolo all day, it is the juicy and food friendly bottle of Barbera that is typically the first to be finished at the dinner table.

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