Barbaresco 2018 vintage report: 40 wines tasted

It will not be easy to bring wine lovers together to talk about the 2018 vintage in Barbaresco.

There were several objective challenges throughout the growing season, not without some extremes. But there is undoubtedly a certain appeal to these wines, which are less extracted than usual.

‘In the 1970s, Barbaresco shined for “less”: less concentration, less structure, less expensive,’ quips Angelo Gaja. ‘Today, things have changed,’ he concludes. Well, that’s not quite true in the 2018 vintage – a return to the “less” character in this cool, damp and fresh vintage.

It’s deserving of four stars but should be intended for short-term drinking rather than long cellaring.

Scroll down to see Aldo’s top-scoring Barbaresco 2018 wines

The 2018 vintage

The 2018 vintage started with a long winter with plentiful rainfall, restoring the soil’s water supply which had diminished due to the dry 2017 season.

Budbreak was regular, with none of the problems caused by late frosts. Between the end of May and the beginning of June there were numerous storms, bringing abundant rains that created some difficulties in the vineyards – the average precipitation level in 2018 was second only to the terrible 2002 vintage.

According to cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti’s report, ‘between 1 May and 13 June, there were 24 out of 44 days of rain’.

View all Barbaresco 2018 40 wines

The summer was regular but on 17 July there was a heavy hailstorm in Barbaresco. September was not easy, with temperatures rising up to 30°C with excessive humidity: ‘Problems were recorded associated with fungal diseases wherever it was not possible to intervene in time,’ the Consorzio del Barbaresco reported.

To thicken the plot, several producers admit that mistaken forecasts forced some of them to harvest in advance. However, after the warm and dry 2017 vintage, prospects were good.

The number of fertile buds was plentiful due to the reserves within the vines from the previous year. A similar example can be seen in the abundant yield of the 2004 vintage after the record heat of 2003.

In fact, the crop was not smaller: according to the consorzio, ‘green harvesting became necessary for nearly all varietals in order to curb production within the limits provided for various production regulations’. This opportunity to select the grapes saved the vintage. Nevertheless, some of the long macerations typically employed for Nebbiolo to extract noble tannins had to be shortened, as did oak ageing.

Should I buy any Barbaresco 2018 wines?

So, on the one hand we have clean and perfumed Barbaresco with plenty of fresh, if not tart, fruit character and softer extraction, resulting in wines that are poised right now: a gift for the current consumer trend which favours polished wines with complexity yet minimal austerity.

On the other hand, more traditionalist Barbaresco collectors will not fully appreciate this vintage’s lesser ability to age.

The 2018 Barbaresco vintage could also revive (and exacerbate) another debate: in difficult vintages such as this, is it better to blend grapes from different crus or to produce a single MGA?

‘We did not produce our Sorì [Sorì San Lorenzo and Sorì Tildin],’ commented Rossana Gaja. ‘It was a classic vintage, similar to 1991 or 1993,’ she continued.

The more structured MGAs such as Asili or Rabajà in Barbaresco, however, performed quite well.

If I must admit my preference, I would bet on these MGAs over time, but for now I’m drinking the blends.

Aldo’s top Barbaresco 2018 wines:

View all 40 wines

View all 40 Barbaresco 2018 wines

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