Piedmont 2021 Buyer's Report

Piedmont 2021: Buyer’s Report

After a week of non-stop tasting around Piedmont, visiting many growers and friends old and new, it is clear that the 2021 vintage for Barolo is something quite special.

Gianluca Grasso summarised that “2021 was the perfection of each part of the growing cycle.” The winter was cold with a lot of snow, springtime was fresh with no rain during flowering, and the summer months were warm with a big variation between daytime and nighttime temperatures.

Across the region, quality has never seemed higher or so consistent. There is a maturity and confidence showing through the wines that speaks of ever more focus both in the vineyard and cellar. Alex Sanchez of Brovia speaks of a very bespoke approach to each vineyard. Depending on row orientation and position on the slope, the canopy is managed differently, as are cover crops.

This is a region with a proliferation of styles, yet more and more finesse. Nebbiolo is a structural grape with high tannins, and the best wines of the vintage seem to have something of both the earth and the sky: the mineral, saline grip of tannins and signature of the terroir yet a lift and ethereal quality brimming with vibrancy. It is a vintage of great balance and finesse.

Many critics hold this same opinion. Antonio Galloni writes that “the 2021 Barolos are finessed, elegant wines that will delight Piedmont fans.” He continues “Two thousand twenty-one is a superb vintage for Barolo. Many of the entry-level Barolos (often referred to as normale or classico) are terrific, always a sign of a good year.”

Monica Larner for The Wine Advocate summarises “This excellent vintage has the fruit intensity, acidity and tannic structure to withstand long cellar aging. The wines offer beautiful elegance and complexity today and promising evolution for tomorrow. The 2021 vintage can be grouped with 2001, 2010 and 2016 as one of the best since the start of the new millennium.”

This is a vintage to buy across the board. With the 2022, 2023 and 2024 vintages for Piedmont much less generous and certainly more challenging, it seems like the perfect moment to stock up on this great vintage.

 

The growing season

The season started well with a wet and cold winter with plenty of snow and water over December and January. This was important as, in general, it was a warm and dry season with 60% less rainfall from February to October when compared with the ten-year average (2007-2016) for that same period.

Towards the end of February and beginning of March temperatures began to rise, which kickstarted the vegetative cycle. However, between April 6-8th temperatures sharply dropped with frost impacting certain communes and vineyards – sometimes with damage up to 50%.

After a slightly unsettled April, temperatures began to rise in May yet with beautiful cool nights. There were periodic showers during the month, but the Spring season was generally drier compared with 2020, 2019 and 2018.

Temperatures began to rise at the end of May triggering a nice even flowering, while June and July brought lovely warm weather but with no serious excess or heat spikes with notably fresh evenings.

The last two weeks of July and first two weeks of August were warm but not hot, allowing for more gradual, steady ripening. A little more warmth arrived towards the second half of the month of August yet with the same, fresh evenings allowing the vines to recover and berries to retain their freshness. September was a warm month with a periodic sprinkling of rain, which was perfectly welcomed and helped continue the steady ripening of the grapes.

Some began the Nebbiolo harvest at the end of September under bright conditions. There was heavy rainfall on October 4th yet, due to the dryness of the season, this did not have any influence on the maturation and health of the grapes still on the vines. Nebbiolo is a tannin grape which requires a long, gradual ripening period to reach full physiological maturity - this was achieved in 2021.

The final result was a beautiful vintage that maintained a high level of tartaric acid, with the long, gradual growing season (with no heat spikes) and cool nights creating beautifully balanced fruit with real nerve and vibrancy.

Speaking with growers, and comparing with other recent vintages, it is clear the 2021s are up there with some of the best recent vintages such as 2019, 2016, and 2013.

The 2021 wines, in general, tend to have a little more flesh compared with the 2019s yet with the same drive and intensity. There is excellent freshness and aromatic lift to the Nebbiolo which also speaks of a gradual evolution in vineyard work and winemaking to preserve aromatic integrity, work carefully on extraction and maceration, and thoughtful ageing in various vessels and formats to finish the wine.

The 2021 vintage is clearly another great vintage in the tryptic beginning with the 2019 vintage. It is a heterogenous vintage in terms of quality and with so many delicious wines from the inexpensive to the super-rare, it is most definitely a vintage to buy at all levels.