BAROLO VINTAGE GUIDE
Most recent vintage first. Click a year to see what we have in stock.
2023 - The 2023 Barolos are still in cask, but the season is known: a mild, wet spring, intense heat in July and August, and hail in parts of the Barolo zone, especially La Morra, that cut yields hard. Early reports point to fresh, mid-weight wines with lifted aromatics rather than the density of 2021. Judge producer by producer when the wines arrive in 2027.
2022 - One of the hottest, driest seasons on record, yet the wines are better than the weather suggests: Nebbiolo's late ripening and some well-timed August rain gave ripe, generous Barolos with surprising freshness and polished tannins. These are not long-haul wines in the mould of 2016 or 2021, but the best are delicious and will drink well from release through the mid-2030s.
2021 - A benchmark season. A cool, dry spring held back the vines, a warm summer with timely rain let them ripen slowly, and a long, luminous autumn brought the fruit in at full maturity with the acidity intact. The result is classic Barolo in the lineage of 2016 and 2010: perfumed, structured, complete, and built for twenty years. Buy with confidence across the zone.
2020 - A warm, early vintage that surprised the sceptics. The wines are charming and fruit-driven, with soft, rounded tannins and a generosity that makes them approachable on release, yet the best communes show real finesse. Not the longest-lived year, but a consistent one, and the one to open while the 2019s and 2021s sleep.
2019 - A classic, slow-ripening year with a cool spring, a warm but not extreme summer, and a cool finish to the season. The Barolos are structured and aromatic, with firm, high-quality tannin and the kind of tension that rewards patience. Among the very best modern vintages for the cellar; give them a decade.
2018 - A wet, difficult season with a rainy spring and summer and little heat. The wines are lighter and prettier than the surrounding years: pale, perfumed, early-drinking Barolo from the producers who sorted hard, and thin from those who didn't. Choose carefully, and enjoy the good ones young while the 2016s and 2019s develop.
2017 - Frost in April and then a hot, dry summer slashed yields and pushed ripeness. The best wines are concentrated and surprisingly fresh, with tannins that softened quickly; the weaker ones taste of the drought. A vintage for careful selection, drinking well now and over the next decade.
2016 - One of the great modern Barolo vintages, mentioned in the same breath as 2010 and 1989. A long, even season with warm days and cool nights produced wines of extraordinary completeness: deep perfume, precise structure, perfect balance between power and finesse. They will outlive most of us; the top wines are only now beginning to open.
2015 - A warm, dry summer with a heatwave in July gave ripe, full-bodied Barolos with generous fruit and soft tannin. Rich rather than classical, but balanced and consistent, and drinking beautifully now. A very good vintage for those who find 2016 too austere in its youth.
2014 - A cool, wet summer and hail in several communes made 2014 a producer's vintage. Where the fruit was sorted properly the wines are elegant, lifted and lighter-bodied, with pretty aromatics and early appeal; elsewhere they are lean. The Barbaresco side of the hill fared better. Drink now and over the next few years.
2013 - A cool, late vintage that produced some of the most classically proportioned Barolo of the decade: high-toned aromatics, firm structure, bright acidity and real length. The wines were tight on release and are now entering their first plateau. A connoisseur's year, with another twenty years ahead of it.
2012 - An uneven season — a harsh winter, a hot August, rain near harvest — gave mid-weight, fairly classic Barolos that are good rather than great. The best communes delivered perfume and balance; the wines are drinking well now and will hold through the early 2030s.
2011 - A warm August and September brought the harvest forward and gave ripe, lush, generous wines with soft tannin and immediate charm. Approachable from the start and lovely now; not a vintage for the long cellar.
2010 - The legend. A cool, long growing season with a dry, bright autumn produced Barolos of perfect proportion: intense perfume, deep fruit, formidable but refined tannins, and the structure to age for decades. Prices reflect the reputation; the wines justify it. Hold the top wines well into the 2030s.
2009 - A warm year with a hot August produced ripe, rounded, soft-textured Barolos that were approachable early. Pleasant and reliable rather than profound, and now fully mature; drink.
2008 - A cool, classic season with a long, dry autumn. The wines are perfumed, elegant and precisely structured, with the kind of nervous energy that only Nebbiolo gives in cooler years. Underrated on release and now showing beautifully, with plenty of life ahead.
2007 - An early, warm vintage that produced charming, open-knit Barolos with ripe fruit and gentle tannin. Lovely from the outset and now in full maturity. Drink up over the next few years.
2006 - A powerful, tannic, traditionally structured vintage after a hot summer and a cool, long finish. The wines were austere for years and have taken their time; the best are now coming round and will reward another decade. Excellent for patient collectors.
2005 - A cool, rainy run-in to harvest produced medium-bodied, early-maturing wines that were overlooked between 2004 and 2006. Elegant, aromatic and now fully mature, they are a quiet pleasure at fair prices. Drink now.
2004 - A large crop from a long, even season — classic Barolo of great purity and elegance, perfumed, balanced and complete. One of the finest vintages of the 2000s, drinking superbly now and with time to spare.
2003 - The year of the European heatwave. Low acidity and dry tannins mark most wines, and many are tiring; the exceptions came from the cooler, higher sites and from producers who picked early. Drink up.
2002 - A disaster in Barolo: a cold, wet summer and a devastating September hailstorm across the heart of the zone. Many of the best estates declassified their entire production. Avoid, with the rare exception of a handful of bottlings from unaffected vineyards.
2001 - A classic, structured vintage from a textbook season: a warm summer, rain at the right moments, and a long, dry autumn. The wines have depth, balance and serious ageing potential, and they are at a wonderful point now. Among the two or three best vintages between 1996 and 2010.
2000 - A warm, early year that produced ripe, soft, forward Barolos. Much praised on release, the wines matured quickly and most are now at or past their peak. Pleasant from good producers; not for further keeping.
1999 - Structured and powerful wines, combining elegance with aging potential.
1998 - Balanced vintage producing elegant, medium-bodied wines with good structure.
1997 - Warm vintage with ripe, approachable wines. Early-drinking but still impressive.
1996 - Outstanding vintage. Known for structured, powerful wines with exceptional aging potential.
1995 - Better vintage in a tough stretch; balanced but not remarkable wines.
1994 - Difficult vintage with rain affecting quality; light and inconsistent wines.
1993 - Passable vintage; some wines showed balance but lacked excitement.
1992 - Cool and rainy vintage, wines are thin and lack structure.
1991 - Tough vintage with challenging growing conditions, generally lacking balance.
1990 - Legendary vintage. Known for its richness, balance, and structure. Wines from this year are still highly regarded for their longevity and complexity.
1989 - Fairly structured and balanced wine; with a wide, intense and complex scent; generous and complete taste with an elegant tannin level, very good stuff and persistence; long-lived.
1988 - Excellent vintage. Remarkably elegant structure, great balance and strong character. Pleasant and intense scent with a remarkable fragrance. Right tannin level, wide, delicately bitter, on average long-lived.
1987 - Balanced, good vintage. Well-balanced wine, harmonic and elegant with a gentle and pleasant structure, of good stuff. Delicate, persisting and pleasant scent.
1986 - Elegant, excellent vintage. Very harmonic wine of good stuff, complete, elegant, intensely and widely scented, with a pleasant character. Very modest production because of a hailstorm in spring.
1985 - Perfectly balanced wine with a strong character, a pleasant scent, intense, fragrant, wide and exciting; perfectly balanced velvety texture and tannin level, elegant and generous, suitable for a long life. An honor for the Langhe.
1984 - Elegant, normal vintage. On average strong, well-balanced wine with a pleasant structure, delicate and persisting scent. Modest production.
1983 - Elegant, good vintage. Balanced and pleasant wine, strong enough, elegant and velvety, with a fine and intense scent.
1982 - Complete, strong, balanced wine; with an intense, wide and delicate scent; extraordinarily balanced strength and velvety texture, good character; suitable for a long life.
1981 - Elegant, normal vintage. On average strong, delicate, elegant, harmonic, finely and delicately scented wine.
1980 - Balanced, excellent vintage. Intensely and widely scented, complete wine, of good stuff, extraordinarily balanced, harmoniously built.
1979 - Balanced, excellent vintage. Wine of very good stuff, fairly complete, elegant, intensely scented, with a pleasant character.
1978 - Strong and complete, intensely but delicately and harmonically scented, extraordinarily balanced strength and velvety texture, suitable for a long life.
1977 - Normal vintage. Fine, not too strong, balanced, delicately scented wine. Sometimes mediocre.
1976 - Elegant, normal vintage. Fairly strong, balanced and fine wine, delicately scented.
1975 - Balanced, good vintage. Balanced, harmonic and pleasant, elegant wine, with a delicate and intense scent.
1974 - Excellent vintage. Perfectly balanced, velvety and fine, pleasantly scented wine.
1973 - Elegant, normal vintage. On average strong wine, with an intense and persisting scent, along with a harmonic composition.
1972 - Very bad vintage. Producers renounced this wine as unsuitable for conservation and ripening.
1971 - Splendidly balanced and harmonic, extraordinarily velvety, intensely scented, very elegant wine.
1970 - Complete, intensely scented, strong, velvety, splendidly balanced wine of very good stuff.
1969 - Balanced, normal vintage. Fairly strong, delicately scented wine of good stuff.
1968 - Elegant, good vintage. Velvety, delicate, on average strong wine, elegantly scented.
1967 - Excellent vintage. Complete, strong, intensely scented wine.
1966 - Mediocre vintage.
1965 - Balanced, normal vintage. Fairly strong, balanced wine, with an intense and pleasant scent.
1964 - Splendidly balanced, complete wine, intensely scented, perhaps a little too hard, suitable for a long life.
1963 - Bad vintage.
1962 - Normal vintage. Wine of good stuff, not intensely scented.
1961 - Complete wine, splendidly velvety, with a very strong character, high alcoholic level, very intense and fine scent.
1960 - Bad vintage.
1959 - Mediocre vintage.
1958 - Not too strong but a complete wine of very good stuff; exceptionally elegant, intensely scented.
1957 - Excellent vintage. Complete, velvety, balanced wine.
1956 - Normal vintage. Light wine, though intensely colored and average scented.
1955 - Good vintage. Splendidly balanced, rightly vinous, intensely scented wine.
1954 - Normal vintage. Weak wine, though elegant, fine, velvety.
1953 - Bad vintage.
1952 - Normal vintage. Quite strong, vinous wine, though fairly hard.
1951 - Good vintage. Strong, velvety wine of good stuff.
1950 - Normal vintage. Quite light, vinous, fine wine.
1949 - Mediocre vintage. Weak wine, with a plain character.
1948 - Bad vintage.
1947 - Extraordinary vintage. Complete, perfectly balanced wine, of pure breed and with a very strong character.
1946 - Normal vintage. Quite harmonic and elegant wine.