Why Piemonte Deserves our Attention
Last week, 1275 made its annual trip to visit producer friends in Piedmont. Amid a muted wine market and the ongoing struggles of Bordeaux en primeur, the trip reminded us why Barolo may be the quiet star of the modern fine wine world. Fresh from harvesting the tricky 2024 vintage, yet encouraged by the current release of fantastic 2021s, the Piemontese (and their wines) exuded a gentle confidence we deeply admire.
Bridging Past and Future
The generational handover in Piedmont feels seamless. Most fine wine regions (Burgundy in particular) have seen millenial takeovers of late, bringing both stylistic and commercial shifts. Piedmont stands apart, having managed the transition with poise. The Barolo wars of the 1980s and 1990s already paved a way for stylistic diversity, and the next generation has embraced this fully. Whether sticking to traditional methods or adopting more “international” techniques, Baroli are generally becoming fresher, less extracted, and more restrained in oak use. The prevalance of “crus” – single-vineyard bottles rather than multi-site blends – still allows room for terroir to shine through.
What Makes a “Great” Vintage
With experience passed down through generations, producers now speak with greater fluency about what defines a great vintage. While the codes to explaining legendary years in Bordeaux have been recognised for decades, their Barolo counterparts have, until now, generally been reserved for the geeky few. The keys to success mentioned during our short time on the ground were; balance, of tannin with flavour concentration, and a long ripening season with high diurnal range (warm days, cool nights) to build aromatic complexity. The 2021 vintage ticks both boxes, though it did not escape unscathed. Spring frost reduced yields (rather than quantity), resulting in a smaller-than-average crop.
The Climate Question
Tasting the 2021s, young producers were candid about the challenges of climate change. The 2021 vintage was warmer than historic averages, with lower rainfall, but mercifully without the extreme heat spikes of, say 2017. Climate change is a hot topic that will shape how Baroli are made in future, with efforts leaning into maintaining freshness, and controling alcohol content. For now, the consenus is that a little extra heat looks better on the structured Nebbiolo grape than cool conditions have done in the past. Nonetheless, recent legendary vintages such as 2016, 2019, and now 2021 may be trickier to replicate in future.
Our conclusion from a couple of days tasting the region’s top wines is that Piedmont’s present, and future are bright. We look forward to deepening our exploration of this great region for our collectors.