Renato Ratti: producer profile & Rocche dell’Annunziata mini-vertical

Over the last three decades, Pietro Ratti has witnessed many changes in Barolo, which leads to a question – according to Ratti, are the Barolos of today better than the ones produced back in the 1980s and 90s? ‘Are we better than 30 or 40 years ago? No just different,’ he responds. ‘People are different, wines are different.’

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 Renato Ratti wines

Pietro, the son of legendary Renato Ratti, has been at the helm of the family estate since 1988, when his father suddenly passed away.

The elder Ratti, who made his first Barolo from his own vineyards in the Annunziata zone of the La Morra district in 1965, achieved legendary status among local producers both for his research (his map from the 1970s, ranking the finest vineyards in the Barolo zone, is still considered one of the most important reference works for the area’s wines) as well as his single-vineyard offerings of Barolo from Rocche dell’Annunziata and Conca, both situated in Annunziata near the winery.

A sense of place

The first vintages of these wines were 1970 for Conca and 1971 for Rocche dell’Annunziata, and as the younger Ratti points out, this was a time when local wines were based on quantity; esteem was almost secondary. ‘Winemakers wanted to make a quality change in a time of quantity… My father looked to single vineyards to add value to the image of Barolo.’

Today, Ratti continues to produce these single-vineyard Barolos, as well as another Barolo labeled Marcenasco, a blend of vineyards from La Morra, as well as two versions of Langhe Nebbiolo, two different Barbera and a few other local wines. But it is with Barolo that the Ratti winery continues to build its reputation, and while the proprietor has maintained his father’s basic philosophy about Barolo, he has also changed the winemaking in various ways in order to craft wines that display a sense of place, with a style and prominence the current clientele look for.

Renato Ratti: Fact file

Location Annunziata, La Morra

Proprietor Pietro Ratti

Year established 1965

Hectares Under Vine 35

Total Bottles Produced Annually 350,000

Regarding the differences between his and his father’s approach to producing Barolo, Ratti notes that there have been many changes. ‘First of all, I have many more vineyards than my father used to have. In 1988, we used to buy 80% of the grapes, now I buy 20% of the grapes.’ Another factor is the climate, which has dramatically changed. ‘It’s incredible now that the problem is no rain, so no water, meaning too much sugar. My father’s situation was the opposite, so no sugar – how to achieve enough alcohol? – and too much rain. In 30 years, this has become almost totally upside down.’

Because of the change in climate, Ratti notes that it’s necessary to change the viticultural system as needed. ‘At the end of the day, what I want is the same wine that my father used to make thirty years ago with a totally different climate.’

Searching for elegance

For Ratti, his Barolo has little to do with personal style. ‘I try to interpret my terroir, which is La Morra, so I try and make elegant wines – that’s my style.’ To that end, he matures his wines primarily in botti of 25 and 50 hectolitres and is judicious in his use of new oak, with Rocche dell’Annunziata receiving no new oak at all while Conca, a ‘stronger’ wine in Ratti’s words, is aged in 20% new oak.

The current release of Barolo is 2018, a vintage Ratti is enthused about. ‘2018 for me is like a baby 2016; it’s just a little lighter. It’s classic, beautiful, elegant, open, very accessible. It has its own personality. 2018 is a beautiful style of Barolo.’

Tasting through older vintages of Rocche dell’Annunizata and Conca from Ratti is one of the most thrilling experiences any Barolo lover can encounter, and I was fortunate enough to try several vintages of the former wine recently with Ratti in his cellars. Foremost in my mind were the 2010 and 1999 vintages, wines that offered outstanding complexity and harmony along with remarkable freshness; both should drink well for another 15, perhaps 20 years. I also recall the 1989 Conca I tasted with Ratti years ago at the winery; to this day, this is the finest Barolo ever made by Ratti in my opinion.

Is there a common thread among the best years for long-lived Barolo? ‘The great vintages, we call them “cold”, meaning classic. So when it’s classic for us that means late ripening.’ Examples of late ripening years include 2016, 2013, 2010, 2008, 1999 and 1996. ‘Those vintages are beautiful, they’re fantastic,’ comments Ratti. ‘That’s the beauty of Barolo, that’s the beauty of Nebbiolo. It’s quite predictable, so the more you taste, the more you get a personal idea of what you like…Then of course each area has its own personality with different flavours. But at the end of the day, it’s very important to understand what you want and it’s very nice to know those wines can age 30 or 40 years with no problem.’

Returning to the issue of Barolo today versus those of 30 years ago, Ratti offers a straightforward explanation. ‘I think the big difference between now and 30 years ago is that there were just a few winemakers making great wines, and also there were few good vintages. Today, there are many more good vintages and many more good winemakers. There are also many more good drinkers, so in a way, the good is always getting better.’

Renato Ratti: Wines produced

Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata

Barolo Conca

Barolo Marcenasco

Langhe Nebbiolo ‘Ochetti’

Langhe Nebbiolo ‘Reggimento’

Barbera d’Alba ‘Battaglione’

Barbera d’Asti ‘Battaglione’

Langhe Dolcetto ‘Colombé’

Monferrato Bianco ‘I Cedri’

Monferrato Bianco ‘Villa Pattono’

Tasting 10 Renato Ratti wines

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