Continuing our series of ten years on reports from Piedmont, on our last trip we took the opportunity to taste many 2015s alongside the new release 2021s. Clearly, two contrasting years, the 2015s impressed from the first release for their overall depth and richness. A year that was well-regarded at the beginning but one that also proved somewhat heterogeneous, 2015 began slowly, in cool conditions, with plenty of winter snow and rain in spring. Summer then proved to be one of the hottest on record, which saw sugars and concentration levels climb, bringing harvest dates forward to retain freshness.
The wines at the beginning showed lots of colour and flesh, with slightly lower acidities overall than average. However, in the best examples, that rich fruit was clear and polished, with better tannin integration than the drier 2017s, for instance. Tasting in 2025, we found wines in different stages of development, reflecting too the different levels of density and approaches producers took to the harvest in 2015. Some, such as Altare, were still quite fruity and primary. Similarly, Brovia, though produced in a very different way, also presented crus that still have a certain sinew and structure framing slowly evolving fruit. They were very impressive. By contrast, several wines from Barbaresco, like those of Piero Busso, displayed a broad, sweet finesse that gives a readier, more attractive feel, as are several of the wines from Castello di Verduno, Azelia and Paolo Scavino, the latter two having adopted some notable changes to their winemaking regimes in the years since
A year that can be clustered with other warm vintages such as 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2020, as well as the as-yet unreleased 2022s and 2023s – warmer years are evidently becoming more normal in Piedmont. 2015 is unlikely to go down as all-time great, but re-tasting at this stage does show that there is a wide spectrum of styles out there – and they may well surprise you. On the whole, the wines are a bit more lavish and fruit driven, and we commonly found a lot of spice (camphor, cumin, salts) in the glass, as several show the first tertiary notes in their evolution. 2015s show better integration and complexity than 2017, more weight and perhaps a little less charm than the more perfumed 2011s, but more purity of fruit than the more savoury 2009s. It is also relevant to note that at the very top end, Giacomo Conterno bottled a 2015 Monfortino and Roagna a Crichet Paje – both of which are truly spellbinding wines.
Herewith some notes and commentary on the vintage from our producers:
"A vintage that is showing well with a lot of richness – it is still quite fruity and primary. They have more depth and complexity than 2017s and are probably still on the young side." – Silvia Altare
Barolo Arborina
"Lots of sweet red fruits and ripe tannins, glossy but not too dense, enveloping and long and lovely."
Barolo Cerretta Riserva
"First release was 2005. Rich and heady with a dark liqueur and licorice feeling, a bolder more concentrated wine with a clear Serralunga feel."
"We always felt that our 2015s were on the rounder and more approachable side. They are still young but starting to become approachable with a sense of harmony and some tertiary flavours. 2015 was a warm year but was not as extreme as 2017. With the perspective of the past ten years, I think we can say that 2015 now appears to be a year that had a few peaks but was not overall a crazy year. 2015s have a generous profile without maybe the depth of other vintages." – Alex Sanchez
Barolo Villero
"The initial fruitiness is starting to recede, bringing in notes of leather and spice, with a prominent red cherry note and a slightly angular feel to the acidity, which puts it on the tenser end of drinkability. Salts and spice and anise driven."
Brea Ca Mia
"Counterintuitively, perhaps, the nose of the Brea is more fruit driven compared to Villero, more purple in colour, not lavish, but neatly forest fruited, really attractive and ripe, sweeter and plusher than the Villero. Intense long and mineral but with a heightened succulency. Although it is more tannic and sapid on the finish, today it shows better with an athletic and agile feel. Much more material here."
"We bought a lot of 2015 Barolos from others to better understand the vintage, as the year did not neatly fit into a single style. It was a particular year that challenged us. The wines are still fresh, but it is a quicker evolving year for us that have broad appeal now." - Elisa Scavino
"First vintage. Pulpy and juicy – good and readier to drink, silky tannins not dry, but not hugely complex, showing plummy fruits and heather and a creamy finish."
"First vintage. With the ageing it has become very velvety and it has shed some of the roughness that it had at the beginning, moving in to secondary evolution, finishing on oak sweetness."
Barolo Riserva Rocche del Annunziata
"Easy to love, quite grand scaled with a smart, polished finish – tastes high-end and ready to drink."
"We are working with a bit less lees and cleaner integrity of the fruit over the years. We don’t use submerged cap but prefer to aerate and extract with pumpovers to maintain gentle, aromatic wines." – Vittore Alessandria
Barolo Monvigliero
"Layered, ruby fruited with a seam of sleek aromatic spices and minerals like cumin and aniseed, with a vibrant, mouthwatering acidity – this 2015 still has a lot of tannin but it is super refined and classy. Young in profile with real persistence and no excess density. Super."
"2015s shows the sweetness of a warm year. It reminds me of 1997." – Roberto Voerzio
Barolo Case Nere Riserva
"Expressive and spicy, offering lashings of cumin, anise and camphor, around a base of pulpy, red fruits like cherry and plum and strawberry. Beautifully open in style, fruit forward and sumptuous."
Barolo Rocche dell Annunziata
"Higher in acidity and fresher than Case Nere, the Rocche shows superb finesse and intensity but it is not daunting – silky and rich and grand scaled."
"At the moment I prefer 2015 than 2016 to drink. We are drinking a lot of 2016 but it will take time to arrive – maybe there is an element of expectations being a bit too high, we need to remember that there are beautiful vintages like 2014 and 2015, which for us show so much balance and integration." – Emanuela Busso
"Showing to show some secondary evolution, some balsamic and amaro, in a dark fruited mould. There is a fair amount of flash and power here which is very satisfying, with the richness and evolution that makes this ready to drink."
"Beautifully complex on the red fruits. Generous notes of truffle and tobacco. Velvety, full bodied with a noblesse to the tannins – aromatic and polished and super smart."
"Supple and silky, glossy and rich with a salty finish – ready to drink."
"An underrated vintage that is drinking really well now. A vintage that right now is on the fulcrum – the best of both worlds. Going forward in the next few years the wines will become more tertiary." - Marco Buttignol
Barolo Monvigliero Riserva 2015
"In a really lovely moment, this Monvigliero Riserva is super classy and spicy with ripe tannin and layers – present and powerful, this can be enjoyed and there is more in reserve."
"2015 is a good year with a happy evolution, the nose shows real freshness." - Lorenzo Scavino
"Nice glossy, silky red fruits, more characteristically floral and ruby rich, with sweet tannins, finishing on soft wood and light toast."
"Has a drier earthbound feel, sage and thyme, dark and brooding, briney and sapid, masculine but really fine salty and vital. Really good complex dry but not too austere. Can be drunk but feels younger than Bricco Fiasco and San Rocco."
"Coffee and spice, dark fruited with a plusher blueberry and plummy feel, not as complex as the Margheria, silkier and more licorice driven, this 2015 is in a nice place and ready to drink now. Full bodied less austere."
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