2017 Barolo & Piedmont Vintage

The 2017 growing year will be remembered for its hot climate and, above all, sparse rainfall. The winter was mild, with only a few snowfalls, and spring brought some rain and above-average temperatures, so the vines ran ahead of time from the start and stayed ahead all season. Towards the end of April a sharp drop in temperatures, especially overnight, caused some frost damage throughout Italy, though in the Langhe only the valley bottoms and cooler slopes were affected. Severe spring frost in April affected yields in some, mainly lower altitude, vineyards. From May a long run of fine, anticyclonic weather set in. Summer maximum temperatures were above average, but nights were cooler than in other hot years, and summer was hot, particularly at the end of June and into July, though short of the extremes of 2003. Drought was by far the main threat. A Castiglione Falletto winery recorded 54mm in May, 42mm in mid-June, 44mm from a thunderstorm on 29 July and 20mm at the beginning of September, and there was no rain whatsoever in August. Between January and October there were just 38 days of rain, 352.2mm in total, with every month below its 10-year average. Between the end of August and the beginning of September, 25 mm of rain fell, then from the first week of September temperatures dropped appreciably, with considerable differences between day and night. Nebbiolo picking began in the middle ten days of September and ended early in October, around two weeks earlier than the norm; the average Nebbiolo start was 25 September and the end 7 October. On yields the sources differ: the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani recorded a lower yield in keeping with the sparse rainfall, while Decanter found yields average.

• Mild winter with few snowfalls; warm spring put the vines ahead of time all season
• Late April frost damage; in the Langhe only valley bottoms and cooler slopes were hit
• No rain whatsoever in August; 352.2mm over 38 rain days from January to October
• Nebbiolo picked from the middle ten days of September to early October, about two weeks early

The drought forced an early harvest, and the Barolo 2017 vintage will be remembered as the 'dust harvest'. The harvest was quick. One producer recalled, 'we harvested in the dust', with a cooler climate at the end of the season but four months without rainfall. Maria-Teresa Mascarello finished harvesting her vineyards on 23 September. The plants began to resist destemming and recovered water from the berries to make up for the lack of water in the soil, so picking started with the most urgent vines first. Daniele Gaia of Réva in Monforte finished harvesting on 9 October, against 30 October in 2016, and the Monvigliero harvest was brought forward by nearly an entire month, with Fabio Alessandria of GB Burlotto finishing Nebbiolo on 30 September. In the cellar, the long, submerged-cap macerations typical of Nebbiolo were shortened, to 20 days instead of 40 to 50 in Maria-Teresa Mascarello's case, and Alessandria used selected yeast instead of indigenous ones because of the heat and potential alcohol.

• Maria-Teresa Mascarello finished harvesting on 23 September
• Réva in Monforte finished on 9 October, versus 30 October in 2016
• GB Burlotto finished Nebbiolo on 30 September, with the Monvigliero harvest brought forward by nearly a month
• Macerations shortened to 20 days instead of 40 to 50 in Maria-Teresa Mascarello's case

Decanter found that the wines performed better overall in Monforte, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga than in La Morra and Barolo, and named seven MGAs to look out for, from Vignarionda in Serralunga to Cannubi in Barolo. Alfio Cavallotto of Castiglione Falletto said that where vineyards are planted on mostly sandy soil it was difficult to preserve aromas.

• Serralunga MGAs to look out for: Vignarionda, Lazzarito, Parafada
• Monforte: Mosconi
• Barolo: Paiagallo and Cannubi; Brunate (Barolo/La Morra)

Nebbiolo and Barbera polyphenolic data differed from other hot vintages, with anthocyanins and tannins better in quantity and extractability. Alcohol contents are significant but not out of the average, and lower total acidity can be traced to a smaller quantity of malic acid. Aldo Fiordelli's Decanter report, on 120 wines tasted, found them well balanced with brilliant acidity and ripe tannins, most showing the typical leafy lightness of Nebbiolo without any overripe character. Phenolic ripeness remains the vintage's Achilles heel, with an austere finish and dry if not hard tannins in some wines, while old vineyards and the best examples, produced by severe selection, performed well. It is a vintage for the long haul, though not as ageworthy as 2016 or 2013, and one that should suit the trend for earlier-drinking wines. Agenfood read the style differently: more accessible than classic vintages, with ripe fruit, more alcoholic warmth and less incisive acidity, notes of ripe cherry, plum, dried rose, spice and tobacco, and many wines enjoyable already.

• Early ripening, yet the bud burst to technological ripening cycle averaged 185 days, against about 170 in other similar years
• Phenolic ripeness is the Achilles heel; old vineyards and severe selection performed well
• A vintage for the long haul, but not as ageworthy as 2016 or 2013