2012 Barolo & Piedmont Vintage

The winter began mild, with December highs of 15 to 16 C in the most exposed spots. Very cold days between the end of January and the start of February then brought lows of -15 C, something that had not happened for decades, and cold weather with abundant snow lasted through February. The snow built a good water reserve but delayed the restart of growth and made it uneven, favoring the best-exposed sites. Wine Spectator's Piedmont report instead said vines across the Langhe jumped out to an early start before slowing in cool, damp weather in late spring. March and April were cool and rainy, while May brought an average of 55 mm of rain and much higher temperatures that sped up growth. Rain in early June coincided with flowering and reduced fruit set, leaving fewer berries per bunch, though not to a worrying degree. The damp spring brought some mildew pressure, but the dry summer largely cleared it. From the end of June temperatures ran medium to high with little rain, peaking in the second half of August with highs of 38 C, yet there was no water stress thanks to the winter and spring reserves. Exposed grapes suffered some sunburn, hail fell in the Roero in May and in the Novello, Barolo and La Morra communes twice in July, and a hot spell in mid-August was followed by two days of rain at the beginning of September that ushered in cooler weather. Nebbiolo picking started on 26 September in Piedmont according to Wine Spectator, while the Consorzio dated the opening of the Nebbiolo harvest to the start of October, helped by wide day-night temperature swings from the second ten days of September. Piedmont quantities were 20 to 30 percent below average, and 2012 was not an abundant vintage.

• Very cold end of January and start of February, with lows of -15 C, then snow through February that built water reserves
• Rain in early June during flowering reduced fruit set and left fewer berries per bunch
• Hail in the Roero in May and in Novello, Barolo and La Morra twice in July
• Summer heat peaked in the second half of August at 38 C; Piedmont quantities 20 to 30 percent below average

Picking began in the first week of September with Chardonnay and Arneis and ran to mid-September. The whites were not abundant but much closer to average than in other Italian regions harder hit by the summer, with acidity slightly lower than 2011 and excellent overall balance. Dolcetto was the first red picked and was very healthy in mid-September, its vines restarted by early-September rain and a slight drop in temperature; it showed excellent color and sugar lower than average, with particular excellence in the Diano and Dogliani areas. Barbera followed from mid to end September with good color and marked acidity, probably less complex than the previous two or three vintages but with high finesse. Wine Spectator's Piedmont report listed Dolcetto with Merlot as challenging grapes and Arneis, Moscato and Nebbiolo as promising ones.

• Chardonnay and Arneis picked from the first week of September to mid-September
• Dolcetto healthy, with particular excellence in the Diano and Dogliani areas
• Barbera picked mid to end September, with marked acidity and high finesse
• Picking starts in Piedmont: Moscato 21 August, Arneis 23 August, Dolcetto 11 September, Barbera 20 September

Ripening checks found notable quality and quantity of phenolic compounds, improving over the final month, in grapes suited to well-structured wines for aging, though with average alcohol slightly lower than recent vintages. The Consorzio's report closed by expecting extraordinarily balanced wines from fruit in excellent health. Wine Spectator's report said Nebbiolo in the Langhe looked very good to outstanding. Alessandro Ceretto, winemaker for his family's estates, told Wine Spectator that there was probably an initial concern over whether phenolic and sugar ripeness would line up, adding: "However, the weather change in late August that brought the cooler nights allowed the grapes to slowly develop ripe tannins and strong varietal characters. While it is early to judge the wines, we are seeing elegance coupled with strong tannins."

• Phenolic compounds notable in quality and quantity, improving over the final month
• Well-structured wines for aging, with average alcohol slightly lower than recent vintages
• Nebbiolo in the Langhe looked very good to outstanding (Wine Spectator)
• Cooler nights after the late-August weather change allowed ripe tannins and strong varietal character (Alessandro Ceretto)

WineSurf's Carlo Macchi, writing on 6 January 2017 after almost 500 tastings and re-tastings, called 2012 one of the hottest vintages of the new century, hot practically from May to September, though producers had told him it was drier than it was hot. His first look at Nebbiolo Prima in May had found an irregular year, with noses from almost mute to fairly ripe, rather rough tannins and a lack of depth. The Barolo later showed much more finesse and complexity than he expected, and he judged it a clear step above Barbaresco 2012. Almost fifty of 311 wines, more than 15 percent, reached at least 3.5 stars, a higher number and share of top-scoring Barolo than WineSurf had seen before. In his view the wines were fairly ready from the start, without heavy oak on average, with slightly rough tannins, full palates with good depth, and noses that sometimes carried a slightly oversized alcohol note. They might not age for centuries, averaging about 20 years, and 2012 was a difficult vintage that producers had interpreted well.

• Among the hottest vintages of the new century, though producers called it drier than hot (WineSurf)
• Almost fifty of 311 Barolo 2012s, more than 15 percent, reached at least 3.5 stars
• Fairly ready from the start, slightly rough tannins, full palates with good depth
• Aging estimate: an average of about 20 years (Macchi)