The 2016 vintage
2016 is widely regarded as one of the outstanding years of this century in Piemonte. The growing season was long and remarkably even, producing one of the region’s benchmark vintages. A cool spring delayed vine development, followed by a warm but never excessively hot summer, with occasional rain, which allowed the grapes to ripen slowly and steadily. There were no heat spikes and little hail. Fine, dry weather through September and into October, with warm days and cool nights, which are the key for excellent aromatic development, fully ripe tannins and healthy fruit. With little disease pressure and settled weather in early October, there was no need to rush the harvest; growers were able to pick each vineyard at optimum maturity. On release, the resulting wines combined concentrated fruit with vibrant acidity, refined tannins and moderate alcohol, giving them exceptional balance, elegance and outstanding ageing potential.
Why this tasting?
The aim of this tasting was two-fold. First to see if the promise of 2016 was fulfilled, ten years on. And, second, to taste a range of wines and varieties across the region to see if the likes of Cortese, Timorasso, Dolcetto and some other very local varieties have developed in bottle, as well as Nebbiolo. The wines were tasted with Andover Wine Friends, and I have added some members’ comments.
Broglia, Vecchia Annata, Gavi del comune di Gavi DOCG 14%
This ‘old vintage’ bottling is made only in the best vintages from Cortese vines planted between 1952 and 1955 on calcareous marl soils at 300–350 m. Fermented in stainless steel before an extraordinary 100 months of ageing on its lees.
Now showing a gentle golden hue, the wine combines toasty maturity with dried lemon and pronounced stoniness. Full-bodied yet remarkably focused, it finishes with long, finely etched acidity that carries the wine effortlessly. Some tasters would have liked more fruit, others were happy with this subtle, dialled-down style, suitable for fine dining.
Montemarzino, Derthona®, Vino Bianco, Roagna, 13.5%
Roagna was the pioneer Barolo and Barbaresco producer to invest in Colli Tortonesi, recognising the ageing potential of Timorasso. The grapes were whole-bunch pressed with a few hours of skin contact before controlled pre-fermentative oxidation and spontaneous fermentation. Matured on its lees for two years in old neutral oak botti, giving texture without masking the variety.
Medium lemon with an intriguingly evolved nose of lime, wet stone and developing petrol aromas. Mouth-filling and concentrated yet precise, with lively acidity, a firm, grippy texture and a remarkably persistent finish.
Roberto Voerzio, Priavino, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC 13.5%
Produced from low-yielding Dolcetto grown in the La Pria vineyard in La Morra. Fermented with ambient yeasts in stainless steel before ten months in tank, with no fining or filtration.
Deep ruby with the first signs of garnet development. Rich red plum fruit is joined by leather and forest floor notes, while the palate has developed pronounced savoury complexity. Firm tannins now slightly outpace the remaining fruit, making this an intriguing mature expression of Dolcetto.
Casa Ronsil, Fortunato, Valsusa DOC
A rare blend of 60% Avanà and 40% Becuet from a century-old vineyard at 1,100 metres in the Val di Susa. Aged for 12 months in French oak barriques, with annual production limited to 400–600 bottles.
Medium ruby with a purple tint, offering floral, smoky and earthy aromas over ripe raspberry and red plum fruit. The palate is elegant rather than powerful, finishing with chalky tannins and impressive freshness that recalls a mature Cru Beaujolais. Outstanding.
Claudio Mariotto, Montemirano, Colli Tortonesi DOC Croatina, 15%
Made entirely from Croatina grown at 250–300 m in Sarezzano. After 8–10 days on the skins, the wine matured for 12 months in a mixture of new and one-year-old tonneaux, reflecting the producer’s ambition to create an ageworthy Croatina (‘Croatina da invecchiamento’ is the pitch).
Deep ruby in colour, with herbal raspberry and strawberry aromas framed by well-integrated oak. Rich, mouth-filling and warm, the wine combines generous fruit with ripe tannins and impressive concentration. This wine was a real revelation.
Olim Bauda, Nizza DOCG Riserva 15%
Made in the best vintages only, this top-quality Barbera is aged for three years in large oak casks.
Initially needed oxygen, the wine quickly opens to reveal dark berry fruit, black pepper and savoury leather notes. The generous fruit remains well supported by fresh acidity and gentle tannins, giving excellent balance and persistence. Barbera, as a variety, ages slowly in the bottle.
Cantine Sant’Agata, Genesi, Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG Riserva 15%
Produced from 90% Ruchè and 10% Barbera, with the grapes partially dried for three weeks before fermentation in wooden vats. Matured for three years in oak and released as the inaugural Riserva under the DOCG’s new category.
Now garnet in colour, the bouquet is intensely aromatic, combining rose petals, potpourri, leather and smoke with ripe red berries. Rich and expansive on the palate, it remains beautifully balanced by fine-grained tannins and remarkable freshness. Ruchè is remarkable when it is young, and this bottle showed that it can age impressively too.
Moccagatta, Barbaresco DOCG Basarin
Nebbiolo from the Basarin MGA (subzone) in Neive, planted on limestone marl with sandy components between 250 and 280 metres. Seven days on the skins followed by 18 months in barriques, around 40% of them new.
Developing garnet tones accompany an elegant nose of cranberry, red plum and sweet spice. The palate is refined, with silky tannins and layered complexity, although the oak flavours are still not fully integrated with the fruit at this stage.
E. Pira e Figli (Chiara Boschis), Barolo DOCG Mosconi
From the Mosconi MGA in Monforte d’Alba, harvested on 2 October 2016. Fermented over 7–10 days using gently rotating rotofermenters with punch-downs and rack-and-return, before 24 months in French oak barriques.
Beautifully evolved, with classic Nebbiolo aromas of violet and ripe dark plum already seamlessly integrated. The palate combines concentration with remarkable finesse. Despite its impressive power, the ultra-fine tannins are almost hidden beneath the wine’s depth of fruit. A wine for the decades.
Cascina Sòt, Barolo DOCG
This is the winery’s standard Barolo, with the grapes being macerated on the skins for around three weeks, followed by ageing in Slavonian oak casks for 32 months.
The bouquet captures Nebbiolo at its most expressive, with rosewater, red cherry and earthy complexity. Elegant rather than powerful, the palate is framed by fine but still youthful tannins, suggesting many years of further development ahead.
Ca’d’Gal, Vite Vecchia, Moscato d’Asti DOCG
Produced from a one-hectare parcel of 60–70-year-old Moscato Bianco vines growing on white marl and blue clay. Fermented with ambient yeasts in an autoclave, before fermentation was stopped at 5% alcohol, leaving around 150 g/L residual sugar. Matured for five years in bottle, buried in sand-filled wooden crates to ensure a stable temperature. See further my post of Cà dGal, here.
Barely sparkling, with wonderfully expressive aromas of blossom, peach, grapefruit and lavender. The herbal and citrus skin dimension of Moscato really shows the benefit of ageing this variety. Richly sweet yet perfectly balanced by lively acidity, it demonstrates just how beautifully top Moscato d’Asti can evolve with bottle age.
Has the promise of the much-lauded 2016 vintage been fulfilled? Very much so. The wines we normally age in the cellar, Barolo and Barbaresco, are exactly where you would hope them to be: on the cusp between youth and maturity, combining fresh fruit with the first tertiary notes, while their tannins remain youthful but beautifully ripe.
The real surprise was how well some of Piemonte’s other wines had aged. Everyone agreed on the exceptional Timorasso and was amazed by the quality of Casa Ronsil’s Avanà/Becuet blend, Claudio Mariotto’s Croatina and Cantine Sant’Agata’s Ruchè, whose fruit had evolved into wonderfully complex tertiary aromas. Views on the Gavi were more mixed. It would have been fascinating to taste it blind, without knowing it was Gavi, but that’s another story. Equally, Cà dGal’s Vite Vecchia—yes, really, a ten-year-old Moscato d’Asti—was a triumph.
The Dolcetto and the Barbera were both very good, although I did wonder whether I would have enjoyed them even more in their youth; sometimes leather and mushroom notes can distract from varieties whose greatest appeal lies in their exuberant fruit. Overall, however, even the less celebrated grapes showed just how rewarding it can be to cellar wines from right across Piemonte.
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