James recently held a Zoom tasting session with Pietro Ratti, the owner of Renato Ratti, to discuss the 2017 vintage. Pietro describes it as "kind of a surprise," and fresh at the end, which he attributes to the vineyard's proximity to the sea. He also explains that the 2017 growing season was 185 days – just long enough to ripen. The average season for Renato Ratti is 200 days, and the shortest recorded was 170 days. The weather during the 2017 growing season was also extremely warm and humid, with only a short period of rain to freshen the vines, Pietro said.He also barrels his wines for 24 months, which is longer than most wineries, to encourage reductive winemaking. As they taste the wines, James finds that this method of winemaking has resulted in fine tannins, with clear, beautiful fruit. Pietro adds that there is also a floral aroma in this warm vintage – a characteristic more normally found in colder vintages. His goal is to produce wines that have less power but more elegance, which he said shows in the 2017 vintages.Listen to the podcast to find out their thoughts on the Conca, Marcenasco and Rocche dell'Annunziata 2017s. Here are the tasting notes:Renato Ratti Barolo Conca 2017Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 2017Renato Ratti Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata 2017