T he adjective ‘classic’ can only partly be intended, as it is in Bordeaux, to indicate wines that are less concentrated. Here in Barolo, ‘classic’ refers to traditional, oldfashioned or even old-school styles – a ‘classic’ vintage is more austere than supple.
All the producers are in agreement that 2019 is a classic vintage. Even if it lacks a little in concentration, it deserves five stars. But let’s go in order. Compared to the most recent (yet to be bottled) 2022 and 2021 vintages, which were affected by drought, 2019 started with good water reserves for the vines thanks to plenty of rain and snow through the winter, crucial for storing water in the steep, weathered soils of the Barolo hills.
For her own estate, Maria Teresa Mascarello of Cantina Bartolo Mascarello told me: ‘The sum of the rainfall in 2022 and 2021 together doesn’t reach the levels of 2019 on its own.’
Conversely, the annual average rainfall of 654.5mm recorded for 2019 (according to the analytical data collected by respected ‘mapman’ Alessandro Masnaghetti on his platform barolomga360.it) was lower than that for the rainy, warm 2018 vintage’s 923.7mm. And while 2018 was considered a bit ‘diluted’, 2019 is not, thanks to a better distribution of rainfall and a drier last part of the season. In terms of the spring, the two vintages were similar: pressure from diseases was quite high at flowering and fruit-set, and most of the 2019 wines that show rustic tannins can be attributed to this.
In 2019, warmth set in early, and the end of July was marked by terrible heat: ‘We measured 46°-47°C in the vineyards,’ said Andrea Delpiano, Giovanni Rosso’s winemaker in Serralunga d’Alba.
Temperature peaks above 40°C were ‘followed by rain’, as fifth-generation winemaker Fabio Alessandria from GB Burlotto (pictured right) specified. ‘We had some sunburn on the grapes in Bussia,’ admitted Marta Rinaldi (below) from the Giuseppe Rinaldi estate, which this year will release its first Bussia MGA bottling.
Sunburn was one of the main threats in 2019, as well as a hailstorm in September which mostly affected La Morra. ‘We did not pick Rocchettevino [in La Morra] due to the hail,’ confirmed Francesco Bianco, winemaker at Gianfranco Bovio. Apart from that, 2019 didn’t suffer spring frost as in 2021, and concluded in great form with mild days and cool nights which extended the season.
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Harvest in 2019 finished around 20 October. The longer growing season produced the epitome of classic Nebbiolo grapes – fruit which, in my experience, gives the best results in terms of the wines’ complexity and ability to age. The wines of this vintage
