Barolo 2016 ‘classico’ late releases tasted

Barolo’s lengthy ageing requirements – a minimum of 38 months – stipulate that the wines cannot be released until the fourth January following harvest. This means that the highly anticipated 2016 vintage was first previewed in January 2020.

At that early stage, some wines are not yet bottled and various producers hold off until annual trade fairs held in spring, or occassionally even longer, before a formal introduction. ‘We prefer to wait in order to propose expressive wines with a degree of harmony that make them representative of the vintage,’ says Federica Oberto at Ciabot Berton.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Barolo classico 2016 late releases

As wine tastings and travel had essentially ground to a halt by March last year, many wines were released without fanfare. The silver lining for Barolo producers is that the reputation of 2016 had customers clamouring regardless.

I returned to Barolo last autumn to round out my tastings, sampling a number of wines during a requisite two-week quarantine and at wineries following this.

I have divided these Barolo 2016 late releases tastings into two sections: those with an MGA on the label, and those without. Most of the latter are blends of different crus. You can find my report on the non-MGA Barolos below, and my report on those with MGA designations will follow shortly.

Barolo classico 2016

Despite the rise of single MGA, or ‘cru’ Barolo, the longstanding tradition in the region is to blend fruit from parcels across the territory. The district of La Morra has long been prized for elegance, while Serralunga d’Alba is well-known for lending structure, for example.

In reality, blending from various zones was a tool to manage the vagaries of vintages, especially in the last century when the cooler climate made it challenging for Nebbiolo to reach full ripeness in anywhere but the warmest spots. While achieving ripeness has been less difficult in the last couple of decades, hotter years present new challenges.

This is one of the reasons why Maria-Teresa Mascarello has upheld the tradition of blending. ‘It allows you in a difficult year, either because it is cold or hot, to have a wine that is better balanced and more consistent.’ One of the few producers who declines to bottle crus separately, she believes that the ‘best’ vineyards do not always give the best wine every year.

Alan Manley, who launched his Margherita Otto label with the 2015 vintage, has followed suit. ‘I want to show what these pieces of land in combination can achieve,’ he says, referring to the two hectares of disparate plots that he has managed to cobble together.

The concept is that the whole is better than the sum of its parts. Carlotta Rinaldi at Giuseppe Rinaldi acknowledges that they could make a separate Ravera bottling, ‘but we don’t feel it is harmonious on its own,’ she explains. So intead, the fruit goes into the estate’s superb Tre Tine blend.

Benefits of blending

There are other practical reasons for blending. Many producers only have tiny holdings in each vineyard – bottling each separately would result in tediously small quantities of many different wines.

Furthermore, not every Barolo vineyard is designated as a cru, nor are all MGAs of equal repute or strength of character to stand on their own. As such, producers often choose only the most prestigious crus – and/or those with sufficient production – to bottle separately.

Whatever holdings remain tend to be blended together. However, rather than just blending together any remaining fruit, it is often a well thought through process, as it’s in an estate’s best interest to keep the quality of all of its Baroli high.

Defining ‘classic’

The term classico or ‘classic’ has been unofficially adopted to refer to a Barolo without an MGA, especially to distinguish it from an estate’s cru Barolo. (This is not to be confused with the Classico which in other Italian regions legally defines the original production area.)

Classic is more appropriate than ‘basic’ or ‘normal’, as Barolo is neither of these. It also implies something traditional, which the practise of blending parcels is. However, many of these wines depart from tradition in that they are crafted to be more accessible than the typical Barolo of the past.

Like other producers, Fernando Burani, export manager at Mauro Molino, sees the classic Barolo as an ambassador for the estate. Besides having the personality of a Barolo, ‘it should also be pleasant, velvety and elegant so that it can be consumed even when it is young,’ he says.

Semantics aside, there is an enormous range of prices and stylistic interpretations of wines that are labelled without an MGA.

Some aren’t even from multiple sites at all, they simply refrain from declaring the MGA for various reasons. Furthermore, Baroli that do blend several MGAs are not necessarily inferior to their cru counterparts – some are among the greatest wines of Barolo.

Finally, many represent tremendous value for money, especially in a vintage such as 2016.

Top three Barolo classico 2016 picks:

• Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo 2016: A co-fermentation of multiple plots, this ageworthy Barolo is a classic in the truest sense.
• Fratelli Alessandria, Barolo 2016: Beautifully captures the elegant fragrant side of Barolo without sacrificing structure. An overachiever.
• Azelia, Barolo 2016: In the world of Barolo, this offers exceptional value for money.

See the tasting notes and scores for Barolo classico 2016 late releases:

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