Barolo 2014: Vintage report and tasting notes

Stephen Brook reports on the tricky 2014 vintage in this renowned appellation. Read on for his top recommendations, plus dozens more tasting notes and scores...

Barolo 2014 at a glance:

Keep

After a stormy summer, a fine September saved the vintage, although hail did much damage. Yet top growers produced fine, elegant wines. Better in Barbaresco.

4/5

For growers in the Barolo zone, 2014 would offer a summer of anxiety. Although spring was early, there was little frost. Temperatures were normal in early summer, but there were some spells of localised rain.

In late July, when rainfall was particularly fierce, some vineyards were drenched, while a couple of kilometres away the vines received a mere sprinkling.

Quick link: See all of Stephen’s Barolo 2014 tasting notes

On high alert

The combination of warmth and humidity put great demands on growers, who had to be constantly on the lookout for outbreaks of disease, mildew especially, which had to be fought with timely spraying. Poorly ventilated or overcropped vineyards suffered most.

Conditions improved in the second half of September and into October, with warm days but cool nights. Hail was minimal, mostly confined to Serralunga. Interestingly, despite these difficulties Serralunga seems to have delivered many of the best wines this year.

Yields were generally low, as reported by Roberto Voerzio, who had hail in some vineyards, and Elio Altare, who lost 60% of the crop.

Dr Francesco Baravalle at Elvio Cogno summed up the demanding vintage: ‘You had to work hard in the vineyard to manage leaves and bunches to get the best exposure. You had to work constantly in summer because of the humidity. You also had to sort at harvest.’

How growers responded in this tricky year:

While some growers, such as Giacomo Fenocchio, Boglietti and Paolo Scavino, made their full range of wines, others had to make some big decisions.

Cavallotto declassified all their Barolo to Langhe Nebbiolo (although, mysteriously, some websites seem to be offering some of their 2014 Barolos for sale!).

Others had to pass on some of their cru wines because the crop was too low to justify a separate bottling. Gianluca Grasso says that although the end of the season was fine, it wasn’t good enough for him to produce any of his single vineyard wines, so he blended all the grapes into a single generic Barolo.

Giacomo Conterno says it was crucial to wait into October for full phenolic ripeness, which many growers were reluctant to do, preferring to pick early. Conterno picked selectively, as did some others. Although costly, this helped to eliminate sub-standard fruit.

Exposition and drainage in this hilly region often forced growers into picking earlier than they would have liked, however. Enrico Rivetto, while not dissatisfied with the quality of his wines, wished he could have waited another ten days for more complete ripening, but mid-October rains meant delay was impossible.

Early reports of the poor summer persuaded many journalists to write off the vintage, but it’s clear that many very good wines were made – mostly by leading producers with the means to be highly selective.

Marco Marengo summarised: ‘In Barolo, this was a winemaker’s vintage because of all the decisions that had to be made. You couldn’t leave anything to chance.’

Variation

What makes it a challenging vintage for consumers is the variation in style and quality. Even within a single producer’s portfolio, single-vineyard bottlings can range from the alluring to the humdrum.

Mario Andrion, winemaker at Castello di Verduno, noted that the rain led to thin skins for the Nebbiolo, so long macerations weren’t possible. This led to a lack of extraction and density.

Some winemakers reduced the ageing period in casks for fear of drying out the wine, yet Vittore Alessandria of Fratelli Alessandria points out that polyphenol and tannin levels were surprisingly high.

While some wines show astringency and leanness, the best have aroma, purity of fruit, fine acidity and enough structure to ensure medium-term ageing. It’s not a great or immensely ripe vintage, but it shouldn’t be underestimated.

Some wines can be broached within a year or two and will give great pleasure; others will surely improve over the next 5-10 years. Only a handful of wines will benefit from extended cellaring.

It would be advisable to purchase and taste a single bottle before splashing out on a case, so striking are the variations in quality. And the wines need to be offered at sensible prices, especially with the more promising 2015s waiting in the wings. 

Stephen’s top picks of Barolo 2014:

An update of Stephen’s Barolo 2014 preview, published in late 2017

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