2010 Barolo & Piedmont Vintage

A particularly long, hard winter lasted until the beginning of March, with heavy snowfalls leaving considerable water reserves in the soil. Together with the temperatures of April and May, those reserves were conducive to excellent bud break and vigour for all the vines in the area. Spring and summer were generally cool and rainy, delaying budbreak and setting up a long, late growing season. Plenty of rain fell at the start of summer, at times very heavy, along with some light, localized hailstorms, and producers in the areas most affected by rain in early June had to act to prevent fungal attacks. Mild temperatures at the beginning of August were lower than in preceding years, pointing to later ripening, though in keeping with historic averages; August was foggy but warm, and canopy management was important to prevent stagnant humidity. Daily temperatures rose through the last ten days of August and into September, and excellent swings between day and night temperatures made a fundamental contribution to the grapes' properties, especially polyphenols, most evidently in late-ripening varieties. For Nebbiolo, fine weather throughout September offset a slight ripening delay caused by the wet weather between July and August; sugars kept accumulating in the second half of the month, and the Consorzio's own harvest report called phenolic ripening excellent. Gianluca Grasso of Elio Grasso told Wine-Searcher's Tom Hyland that the season was one of the longest ever, with nights of 5 or 6 degrees C and days of 19 degrees C at the end of September. September and October were mostly dry and harvests were late, though some producers whose vines carried low crops picked earlier than usual.

Tom Hyland, writing for Wine-Searcher, found that La Morra, Barolo, Verduno, Cherasco and Novello, where the soils are younger, gave relatively moderate tannins and pronounced floral aromas, and he counted them among the most charming wines of the year. Serralunga d'Alba and Monforte d'Alba contain the oldest soils and made very powerful wines; Hyland found some outstanding releases there, especially from Massolino and Elio Grasso, but also numerous disappointments burdened by harsh, bitter tannins. He judged Castiglione Falletto, stylistically in the middle, arguably the most consistent commune. Decanter's Ian D'Agata did not believe any one commune outperformed the others, and the 30 or so winemakers he spoke with were split between La Morra, Serralunga and Castiglione Falletto. D'Agata also found that cooler sites, higher-altitude sites and vineyards with overly high crop levels had ripening difficulties, leaving a few wines lean, and that the best wines usually came from the most prestigious sites, such as Brunate or Prapò. Luca Currado of Vietti put it this way: "Quality in 2010 is all about location, location and location: it's 80% terroir, 10% the work of man and 10% luck."

• La Morra, Barolo, Verduno, Cherasco and Novello: younger soils, moderate tannins, floral aromas
• Serralunga d'Alba and Monforte d'Alba: oldest soils and very powerful wines, some outstanding, numerous disappointments
• Castiglione Falletto: arguably the most consistent commune in Hyland's view; D'Agata saw no single commune ahead
• Cooler or higher sites and overly high crops had ripening difficulties

Hyland singled out five Barolos from Paolo Scavino, especially the crus Bricco Ambrogio, Monvigliero and Bric del Fiasc, and praised Vietti's Ravera, Brunate and Rocche di Castiglione. Renato Ratti made three wines from La Morra: Marcenasco, Conca and Rocche dell'Annunziata. Massolino released two crus from Serralunga d'Alba and one from Castiglione Falletto, and Hyland placed Elio Grasso's two estate releases from Monforte d'Alba among their finest to date. His five favourites were Bartolo Mascarello, Renato Ratti Rocche dell'Annunziata, Massolino Parussi, Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera and Umberto Fracassi. Maria Teresa Mascarello continues her father Bartolo's tradition of blending grapes from various communes rather than making a single-vineyard wine.

• Paolo Scavino: Bricco Ambrogio, Monvigliero and Bric del Fiasc among five 2010 Barolos
• Vietti: Ravera, Brunate and Rocche di Castiglione; Luca Currado: "The vintage was fantastic."
• Renato Ratti: Marcenasco, Conca and Rocche dell'Annunziata from La Morra
• Hyland's top five: Bartolo Mascarello, Ratti Rocche dell'Annunziata, Massolino Parussi, Elio Grasso Gavarini Chiniera, Umberto Fracassi

The annual Nebbiolo showcase held in Alba in May proved to Hyland that many powerful wines have the structure and stuffing for 40 to 50 years of life, alongside some lighter wines that are pleasant even young. Danilo Drocco, winemaker at Fontanafredda: "I can imagine a long life for the 2010 Barolos, with 30-40 years being no problem." Hyland expected the best Castiglione Falletto wines to peak in 25 to 40 years, with many approachable at 3 to 7 years. D'Agata wrote that most 2010s will prove very ageworthy thanks to sound acidities, though many that were once youthfully austere are now surprisingly approachable, some almost too fat and alcoholic. Savio Daniele of the Le Strette estate in Novello remarked: "We are surprised by how forward some of the 2010 Barolos are turning out to be."

• Many powerful wines with the structure for 40 to 50 years (Hyland's drinking-window view)
• Danilo Drocco (Fontanafredda): 30 to 40 years no problem
• Castiglione Falletto: best to peak in 25 to 40 years, many approachable at 3 to 7 years
• Sound acidities make most very ageworthy, though some turned surprisingly forward

Decanter's Ian D'Agata summed up 2010 as classic, balanced wines from a relatively cool growing season and late harvests, with probably the best long-term potential of 2009 to 2012. Slow, even ripening and a lack of excessive heat explain wines of real density of texture and vibrant acidities. D'Agata called 2010 the best Barolo vintage of the 21st century to date, along with 2001, and judged it slightly overrated by some critics, with the wines generally very good to outstanding and most never reaching the quality of 1961, 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1989. Hyland wrote that 2010 may be the finest of Barolo's run of strong vintages since 1996, combining the floral qualities of 2004, the power of 2006 and the firm acid structure of 2008.

• Decanter: the best Barolo vintage of the 21st century to date, along with 2001
• Decanter: slightly overrated by some critics; generally very good to outstanding
• Hyland: floral qualities of 2004, power of 2006 and firm acid structure of 2008