Barolo 2020: A ‘ready to drink’ vintage

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

Related articles

• Piedmont’s up-and-comers plus the 10 bottles to seek out
• Italy’s future greats: 10 wineries from Piedmont to Campania nominated by their peers
• Piedmont Dolcetto: Panel tasting results