Voici quelques articles intéressants sur la région pour le millésime 2013 :
BY ANTONIO GALLONI | FEBRUARY 10, 2017
In 2013, a cool growing season and late harvest produced gorgeous Barolos with striking aromatics, silky tannins, sculpted, vibrant fruit and mid-weight structures. Readers will find a number of thrilling, utterly captivating wines that speak to the pedigree and class that are the signatures of the best Barolo vintages.
The 2013 Growing Season
The 2013 growing season will be remembered for many things, including a very wet spring that required swift intervention in the vineyards to stave off peronospera, a disease that is not usually so devastating at this time of the year. Producers who treated their vineyards saved their crop, those who could not or did not, suffered severe losses. Because the ground was wet, spraying had to be done manually, rather than by tractor, a painstaking job that not all producers were able or willing to undertake. To be fair, peronospera is very rarely so severe at this time of the year, but producers who did not treat were hit hard. Many growers told me the number of treatments was double that of a normal year and clearly some producers were less willing to intervene than others for philosophical reasons.
Fortunately conditions improved into the summer, with warm, but not excessively hot, temperatures that allowed the crop to ripen gradually. Perhaps most importantly, the last phase of ripening saw healthy diurnal shifts between daytime highs and evening lows, one of the most critical components for the development of aromatics and color in Nebbiolo. The late harvest also allowed the tannins to ripen fully, always a challenge with Nebbiolo. There was some rain during harvest, which is most likely the reason some growers spoke of grapes with thin skins that required delicate extractions. On the other hand, some growers opted to give their 2013s more time in barrel because of the wines’ imposing tannins.
The 2013 Barolos in the Glass…
The 2013 Barolos generally possess striking aromatics, silky tannins that are the result of a long growing season, sculpted, vibrant fruit and mid-weight structures. When the 2013s were younger, I thought they would turn out along the lines of the 2010s, but over the last year in particular, many 2013s have acquired a level of textural finesse and grace that is truly remarkable. In many cases, the 2013s remind me of the 2008s, but with more depth, better balance and more consistency. If that sounds appealing, well, it is. Overall, the 2013s are Barolos that speak to finesse above all else. These are wines that will hold considerable appeal to readers who enjoy classically built wines. The 2013s have a good bit of supporting structure, but not the explosiveness or austerity found in vintages such as 2006 or 2010. I don’t think the 2013 quite reaches the sheer thrill factor of 2010, but it comes very close.
Show Me The Money!!
In the 1996 film, Jerry Maguire, NFL player Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) shouts out the phrase that would become iconic at his agent Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise). This is how things are playing out in Piedmont.
Broker: I have a client who is interested in buying your property.
Owner: Thank you, but I am not interested.
Broker: I understand. But if you were to sell, what would be the price?
Owner: (Blurts out a number that is double the high end of the market)
Broker: Here’s a check.
The biggest story in Piedmont continues to be the sale of Vietti and a continuous steam of rumors about other estates that are said to be close to being sold. I have been, and continue to be critical of the Vietti sale to American businessman Kyle Krause, not because the estate was sold, but more because of how and why that sale happened. It is one thing if a group like LVMH, Artemis or Roederer were to buy an estate in Piedmont. All three have a long-term track record of success, demonstrated long-term commitment to the business and a deep bench of talented professionals. Sadly, Vietti is now in the hands of a family that has none of the above. As long as Luca and Elena Currado are around, I think Vietti will be fine. After that, all bets are off.
Piedmont is not Bordeaux, where consumers often buy brands. In Piedmont, consumers buy a story, and that story almost always involves a family and a connection to the land. In that regard, Piedmont is quite similar to Burgundy. There are a handful of top estates in Burgundy that are owned by large groups; Domaine de L’Arlot, Domaine de L’Eugénie and Domaine de la Vougeraie all come to mind. These estates all produce consistently outstanding wines. And yet I know of no Burgundy collector – rightly or wrongly – who would place any of them on the same level as Mugnier, Rousseau, Dujac, Roumier and countless other domaines that are family owned and operated.
Why Today is a Great Time to Be Buying Piedmont Wines
It is no secret that Bordeaux drives the fine wine market globally. That region’s long-established markets and commercial infrastructure, along with so many properties that offer high quality and production, are unequalled anywhere else. More recently, Burgundy prices have exploded as consumers and collectors pay just as much, if not more, attention to scarcity. With this backdrop, interest in Piedmont wines has surged massively over the last 10-15 years. When I started Piedmont Report in 2004, there was not a single Barolo or Barbaresco that could not be sourced and purchased in volume. How things have changed since then.
There is no question that much of the demand for Piedmont wines has grown as quality has improved markedly. Among other things, today’s wines are easier to drink and enjoy than the wines of the previous generation, which means a larger number of consumers is trying and discovering the wines than ever before.
But there is more to it than that. Bordeaux went through four vintages in which market interest was limited (2011-2014), while Burgundy saw sharply reduced yields during the same period (and again in 2016). All of that led the trade, especially the big players, to seek alternatives to offer consumers with Old World palates. Piedmont was a logical choice, especially with the exceptional 2010 Barolo vintage.
Last year, an interesting thing happened. Bordeaux had a strong vintage with normal production. And the interest in Piedmont wines? It dropped sharply. Today, the market dynamic is this: Bordeaux has two strong back-to-back vintages (2015, 2016) that are likely to capture considerable interest from the market. In 2015, Burgundy has its first vintage with normal production levels since 2009. Against this backdrop, the 2013, 2015 and 2016 vintages are all strong in Barolo, while 2014 will offer a handful of exceptional wines. The annual production of Barolo is around 12 million bottles, and while only a small percentage of that production is going to appeal to Vinous readers, I believe that confluence of several strong Barolo vintages and considerable market interest elsewhere will make it difficult for all but a few producers and the trade to raise prices meaningfully. The large supply of Barolo that will appear over the next few years is likely to create a fabulous opportunities for savvy consumers to build good collections for the future.
Looking Ahead…
As I have written before, 2014 is a vintage with sharply reduced yields and at least a few truly thrilling wines at the top end. It is a vintage of high-acid, vibrant wines that make me wish I had tasted some of the Barolos of the 1960s and 1970s when they were young wines. The biggest issue with the 2014s is that the vintage might never recover from its poor reputation with the public, much of which producers themselves created with their early comments on the year. But in some spots, 2014 is an exceptional vintage for Nebbiolo, a late-ripening grape that was able to take full advantage of the glorious Indian summer conditions that year. The 2015s I have tasted so far point to a radiant vintage with considerable potential. I have not tasted the 2016s yet, but spent enough time in the region in the days and weeks leading up to harvest to be optimistic.
I tasted all of these wines in November 2016, with follow up tastings in my office in December 2016. As always, my winter Barolo article focuses on wines that were bottled during the summer of 2016. I will publish a second set of reviews covering wines that are bottled later this fall.
http://vinous.com/articles/2013-barolo- ... e-feb-2017
GALLONI - 2012 & 2013 Barbaresco – A Study in Contrasts
Readers will find two very different sets of wines in the 2012 and 2013 Barbarescos. The 2012s are open-knit, supple and ready to drink, while the 2013s - from one of the latest years in recent memory - embody all the qualities that make Nebbiolo one of the world's most noble grapes; soaring aromatics, pulsating energy, structure, and, most importantly, the rare ability to transmit the essence of site.
2012 – Slow to Start, Slow to Finish
The 2012s are attractive wines from a vintage that appears to be best suited to near-term drinking. Many wines show the elevated ripeness from a period of intensely hot weather in early August, but at the same time the 2012s are decidedly medium in body, without the opulence found in the 2011s, another vintage marked by warm temperatures. One of the shortcomings of 2012 is that vineyard signatures are not fully developed, which results in an element of sameness across many wines. Overall, 2012 is an average vintage with a few overachievers and large number of wines that will offer their best drinking sooner rather than later.
The growing season got off to a difficult start. The winter was brutally cold. In Burgundy, the cold killed quite a few plants in lower lying areas. Mother Nature was kinder to Piedmont. Flowering was late and took place under cold, damp conditions, which caused a loss of around 10-20% of the potential crop. Periods of warmth alternated with cooler spells in an up and down season with little regularity. A blast of heat in early August was so severe it caused dehydration. The rest of the summer was overcast, with moderate temperatures and very little sun. Hail was an issue in a few spots, including Asili and Pajè. Nevertheless, sugar readings were on the high side heading into harvest. A final spell of rain just before harvest was the final wrinkle growers had to deal with in what turned out to be a difficult year.
It’s always a challenge to make generalizations about Piedmont, as there are so many subtleties with each twist and turn of these snaking, hillside vineyards. Still, the data I was able to compare from weather stations in Monforte and Barbaresco showed that Barbaresco had higher average temperatures, higher peaks, along with 25% more rain and 19% more growing degree days.
Of course, one has to keep in mind that parts of the town of Barbaresco is next to the Tanaro river and its warming influence and that Barbaresco sits lower than Monforte, so warmer temperatures alone may not be that significant. But the differences in rainfall and growing degree days are too significant to ignore.
Interestingly, sugar levels and polyphenols track recent historical averages, but anthocyanins, which are developed through diurnal shifts towards the end of the growing season, are quite a bit lower than those that one might see in a more classic year, such as 2013. This may explain why the 2012s are both ripe, deep and juicy, but also lacking in color. Wine rarely comes down to numbers alone, but some of the keys to unlocking the essence of the 2012 vintage might lie in understanding those figures.
2013 – Regal Classicism
Two thousand thirteen, on the other hand, is shaping up to be an epic vintage of classic proportions and superb pedigree. The growing season was much more stable than 2012, but it is the last month of the year, a perfect September with warm days and cool nights, that yielded Barbarescos endowed with regal intensity. The 2013s remind me of the 2010s, but with more inner sweetness and mid-palate richness. Vinous readers will recall that 2010 was an uneven vintage in Barbaresco. From what I have seen so far, 2013 does not have the austerity nor the inconsistency of 2010. The late October harvest was one of the latest on record. Some of the region’s younger producers told me they had never seen such a late-maturing vintage!
Barbaresco’s Void in Leadership
For the last several decades, Barbaresco has been defined by three producers who have towered above all others; Bruno Giacosa, Angelo Gaja and the Produttori del Barbaresco. Giacosa seems to be gradually coming back to form after the disappointing 2008s and 2009s, which is a very good sign. Gaja is in the middle of a generational transition, a delicate period for any estate that always takes at least a few years. The Produttori are as consistent and reliable as ever, but the lack of association with a single producer is in many ways a hindrance.
It doesn’t take much time in Piedmont to realize how much more visibility Barolo has compared to Barbaresco. Much of that can be attributed to Barolo's long-standing presence in export markets. The vast majority of Barolo is sold outside Italy, so the client base is international by nature. The exact opposite is true of Barbaresco, which, up until recently, was mostly sold in Italy. As a result, Barbaresco is a very insular place. What Barbaresco needs today is someone who can show the world just how compelling these wines are, but it will take a person with the kind of outward vision Angelo Gaja had in the late 1960s, naturally adapted to today’s sensibilities. The road is wide open for one or more producers to take that leadership position.
Some Background
Bruno Giacosa is without any doubt Barbaresco’s first modernist producer. In 1964, Giacosa made the first vineyard designate Barbaresco, his 1964 Santo Stefano Riserva, a wine that remains exhilaratingly beautiful to this day. A close look at the label reveals the vineyard name as ‘Cru Santo Stefano di Neive d’Alba.’ Single-vineyard wines have become all the rage in the last fifty years, but they are not part of the Piedmontese tradition. Rather, these wines reflect an infatuation with French culture (which can also be seen in the use of the word ‘cru’) that was sweeping through Piedmont in the early 1960s.
Giacosa’s desire to bottle his own wines showed he was not afraid to challenge his father, a grape broker by trade, who was not at all pleased with the potential for conflicts of interest if and when the young Giacosa decided to keep the best fruit for himself. Giacosa dealt with that concern by offering to pay double the going rate for his fruit. Bruno Giacosa was also among the first producers to use French oak, install temperature-controlled stainless steel fermenters and send his wines to an outside lab for analysis. Although often thought of as a traditionalist, in his day Bruno Giacosa was among the most innovative and daring producers in Piedmont.
Angelo Gaja started working in his family’s winery in the late 1960s and joined full-time in the early 1970s. While Giacosa is a man of few words who has rarely travelled outside Piedmont, Gaja is the exact opposite. Speaking and moving at the speed of light, Gaja lives at a pace that is nearly impossible to keep up with, even today. Gaja is the great evangelist of Barbaresco. He took the magic of these hills and exported it around the world. Back home, Gaja adopted a host of modern vinification techniques and molded his wines to more American/international sensibilities in an effort to show his wines could compete with the world’s benchmarks for excellence.
But in a battle between Gaja and Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo always wins, as evidenced by how well even Gaja’s most internationally-styled wines have aged and maintained their vineyard signatures. Daughters Gaia and Rossana have pulled things back and are going for a bit more restraint, goals they are pursuing with the work ethic and total drive for perfection they inherited from their parents. The next chapter at Gaja is going to be fascinating to follow.
Just up the road, Aldo Vacca has deftly brought the Produttori del Barbaresco into modern times while making subtle changes to farming and winemaking yet maintaining the traditional style that has made this coop so adored by its rabidly loyal fan base. The changes at Produttori have been gradual to the degree they aren’t always so noticeable, but they are there. No one knows every nook and cranny of Barbaresco better than Aldo Vacca, but Vacca has also proven to be incredibly wise in making choices that have positioned the Produttori for much continued success in the future.
Barbaresco’s Emerging Young Producers
All of which brings us to the present and future. Many of today’s most exciting Barbarescos are being made by the new generation of young producers. Andrea Sottimano has taken what he has seen in Burgundy and applied it to his Barbarescos with increasing success over the last decade. Francesco Rocca is younger and less experienced, but his father, Bruno Rocca, owns a number of top-flight vineyards including what is widely regarded as the very best part of Rabajà. Based on the quality of vineyard holdings alone, Rocca should be a top five producer in Barbaresco every year. Silvia Rivella and her father Guido, who are just now releasing their first wines, are sure to make a splash. Just across the valley, Marco Rocca’s La Ca’ Nova is probably the Barbaresco estate with the most potential. At their best, the wines are fabulous. In Treiso, Giorgio Pelissero makes racy, luscious Barbarescos full of personality. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Albino Rocca, Fiorenzo Nada and Piero Busso are some of the other estates where generational transition is under way.
It is pretty clear that Barbaresco’s future is in the hands of today’s emerging young growers and winemakers. But Barbaresco’s producers need to get out more and eradicate a culture of insularity that has been the region’s Achilles heel for so long. Given what I have seen so far, I am optimistic that can happen.
http://vinous.com/articles/2012-2013-ba ... s-dec-2015
JAMES SUCKLING - THE DRINKABILITY OF 2013 BAROLO
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Beautiful harmony, bright fruit, clarity—these are the defining traits of Barolo’s 2013 vintage, which may be its best vintage since 2008. I blind tasted more than 60 bottles a few months ago in the town of La Morra and thoroughly enjoyed the firm, linear tannins that gave the reds real dynamism and form. These are young nebbiolos that will please wine lovers with their classic structure yet accessibility. In other words, you can drink them now or lay them down. You’ll enjoy them either way.
“It was a great vintage,” said Franco Conterno of Poderi Aldo Conterno, who made terrific Barolos from the vintage. “It was a little cooler during the growing season than some vintages. I think it will be in the same style as 2010 but maybe better. 2013 is something more elegant.”
Indeed the 2013s have a comparable structure to the excellent 2010 vintage, but the 2013s are overall more refined and focused as well as more consistent in quality.
Cannubi excelled in this 2013 tasting.
“I think 2013 is most like 1999,” said Guido Damilano, the winemaker at the winery bearing his family’s name. They are the biggest owners of the vineyard area of Cannubi. “It’s very fresh and the tannins are firm. I think it’s a top vintage.”
It’s hard to find specific areas or vineyards that excelled in 2013 other than noting that the best vineyards, like Cannubi or Bussia, appeared to make the best wines. I’ll have a better answer in a few weeks when I return to Italy to taste more 2013 Barolos, but already I can say that I like what I’ve had so far.
“This is a great vintage with elegance,” continued Conterno. “It will be a great wine for aging for collectors and will also be an amazing wine to drink.” —James Suckling, CEO/Editor
https://www.jamessuckling.com/wine-tast ... 13-barolo/