Barolo 2015: Vintage report and 89 wines rated

Stephen Brook reports on the 2015 Barolos - the latest vintage to be released. Are they worth buying?

Barolo 2015

A very hot summer with cooler weather at harvest time led to the risk of overripeness and lack of acidity – but the best wines combine sumptuous fruit with a robust structure for drinking over the next decade plus.

4.5/5

After the nail-biting climatic conditions in 2014, growers were relieved that 2015 proved less trying.

The flowering was successful but there was some poor weather in early June, which reduced yields. July proved extremely hot, even hotter than 2003, but the warmth was steady and there were no vertiginous heat spikes to burn the grapes.Intermittent rain refreshed the vineyards so there was no drought stress either. Cooler weather followed in late August, while September and October were sunny, leading to a harvest two weeks earlier than in 2014.

Quick link: See all of Stephen’s Barolo 2015 tasting notes & scores

So far, so good. But the growing season was not entirely problem-free. Alberto Burzi in La Morra found danger lurking in torrid July: ‘Some outstanding vineyards are south-facing but they are also the hottest, so it was essential to maintain a good canopy to protect the bunches from excessive sunlight.’

It’s the same problem that growers in other regions and countries routinely encounter in the scorching summers that are becoming routine: strip leaves to improve ventilation and deter disease and you risk dehydrating the grapes. Maurizio Anselma added that another consequence of these changing conditions is that there can be great variation from site to site.

The other problem was acidity. Giacomo Conterno of the Aldo Conterno estate noted: ‘The Nebbiolo was beautifully ripe but one had to avoid excessive ripeness that could give cooked aromas and flavours.

‘It was also essential not to extract too much so as to preserve freshness, so our macerations were shorter than usual.’

Indeed, there are quite a few Barolos in 2015 that, while perfectly ripe, are also rather soft and lacking in energy and flair. They resemble vintages such as 2007 and 2009 – both lovely years that also provided many disappointing wines.

The wines recommended in this report are for the most part free of overripeness or soupy textures. But heavy wines do exist – they’re not poor in quality but they can lack structure and nuance and are unlikely to age very well.

What to buy in 2015

Quality seems fairly consistent across the board. There are some limpid and ethereal wines from Barolo itself, but many La Morra wines are rounded and forward.

Castiglione Falletto has delivered rich, solid Barolos that sometimes lack freshness or complexity, but in general they are well made.

Monforte also produced many solid wines, and Serralunga, as so often in recent vintages, delivered wines with heft, structure and staying power. Some are too dense, but most are polished and persistent.

Smaller communes such as Novello, Roddi, and Verduno are the source of many excellent wines. Ravera from Novello in particular has excelled in 2015.

2015 is being acclaimed as a great vintage, and in many respects it is. Unripe flavours and grating tannins are almost non-existent and if you’re looking for Barolo to drink over the next decade, this is an ideal vintage.

For those who enjoy the complexity that bottle age can bring to Nebbiolo, then this may not be an ideal year – it’s a question of taste rather than quality. Nor is there any shortage of magnificent bottles that manage to combine sumptuous fruit with a robust structure and good ageing potential.

It’s worth noting that similar reservations were expressed about 2009 Barolos, yet many of them show no signs of flagging.

Stephen’s top Barolo 2015 wines:

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