After two years away, it was a great pleasure for us to be back in Piedmont last week to taste the new vintages in Barolo and Barbaresco.

However, initially at least, we were greeted by a few long faces, as producers bristled about the reviews some of the upcoming 2018s have received. Whether it’s a case of critics tasting the wines too young, or in the wrong season, or simply with the wrong mindset, we don’t know, but we at Justerini & Brooks are delighted to report that in our week in the region we tasted and will be buying a significant number of really delicious, archetypal Nebbiolos. Moreover, we feel that vineyard signatures are as clear as ever, and if the wines are not the powerhouses that are generally adorned with big scores, then so much the better for the Italian-lover seeking wines that they can enjoy in the early going.

In anticipation of the new vintage, we asked our growers to describe this using one word - 'una parola'. 

Click here to see what they had to say.

Piedmont 2016 Vintage Report: Il Sogno!

2016 has made a reputation for itself as a great vintage in Piedmont. On the evidence of the wines our buying team tasted in February, such a tag is well-justified.  Its place amongst the pantheon of top vintages is assured. The question is whether it surpasses legendary years such as 2013, 2010 and 2001. Many believe it does. People will judge for themselves and no doubt time will tell but, for now, what we can say is that we were thoroughly impressed by this thrilling and harmonious vintage that teeters somewhere between classical and modern in style. Classical in the sense that the wines display fresh acidities and veins of pure, crisp fruit, but modern in the sense of greater attention to detail in the vineyard and the cellar; gentle extractions, restraint in favour of power, and tactile, sophisticated, ripe fruit profiles displaying none of the rusticity sometimes seen in the past. Indeed, 2016, although early days, has every potential to set a new bar for the region’s most dynamic, terroir-driven producers – many of whom are represented in our offer today. Furthermore, the growing trend for more neutral oak and lower density wines is has imbued many of these 2016s with a newfound clarity – it is potentially the most graceful vintage of modern times.         

We were all in high spirits following our annual tasting of the latest Piedmont vintage in London. This year it was the turn of the 2014s; wines that deliver bright and lively vineyard characters while being fresh, energetic and easy to taste young. 

Buoyed though we were from that tasting, the bar was about to rise. For one night only, Justerini & Brooks had reserved the entire Rex Whistler restaurant, part of the esteemed Tate Britain gallery. A London institution amongst wine lovers, the Rex Whistler is celebrated for its generous and mature list of fine wines, impeccable service, and hearty, enjoyable food. It was the obvious choice for a “Piedmont Paulee”.

For the first time in its history one of the UK’s most lauded art institutions would have a full-blooded, boisterous Italian installation on its lower ground floor. Fifteen of the region’s top producers including Giuseppe Mascarello, Elio Altare, Paolo Scavino, Fratelli Brovia, Castello di Verduno, Marco Marengo, Piero Busso, Azelia, Roberto Voerzio, Davide Carlone, Matteo Correggia, and new kids on the block Luigi Oddero, would be joined by forty five eager Nebbiolo enthusiasts for a bespoke four course meal to be enjoyed with innumerable bottles generously donated from one another’s personal cellars.

For the Justerini & Brooks buying team, the annual Piedmont trip is one of the most eagerly anticipated. Protected by the Alps to the north and the Mediterranean to the south, Piedmont is a very special place.

Arriving from busy Milan, spirits lift as the Langhe hills loom into view. It is a striking landscape. Atop winding country roads, medieval villages cut a sharp silhouette, hopping across steep, jagged valleys and awe-inspiring vineyards from one hilltop to the next. It was good to be back.

Of course, we were here to taste the wines. This time our focus was the latest 2013 vintage releases from Barolo, Barbaresco and Alto Piemonte. A week in mid-March under dry, sunny skies was just the climate for strolling vineyards and tasting in cellars. Growers were happy too – a spell of fine weather signalling the arrival of spring and budburst in a few of the earlier ripening vineyards. Our schedule was busy; twenty estates in four days - with the great and the good - and some new faces too.