2024 Barolo & Piedmont Vintage

The Consorzio's 2024 communique tracks a season that was wet from start to finish. Winter was mild with rainfall that partly restored soil water reserves after a dry summer, a pattern the Consorzio notes had also shown up in the two previous vintages. Vegetative growth restarted in a mild spring, with budbreak on classic timing for each variety and rapid shoot development helped by fine weather between April and the first half of May. Then the weather turned unstable. Frequent rain, especially between late May and June, filled the soil water deficit completely and at the same time forced a large agronomic effort to keep vines healthy just as flowering came on. At that stage the Consorzio saw a good average number of bunches, though uneven across areas, varieties and individual vineyards, and rates 2024 as a regular year for production overall. Summer followed the same script: repeated rainfall plus elevated temperatures without excessive peaks, which avoided drought but required attention and timing in the vineyard to a degree not seen for several years. Veraison arrived on standard timing for each variety, which made it clear that picking would follow traditional rather than early dates. Late August checks on white varieties showed lower sugar accumulation than the year before with good acid balance, and black varieties confirmed the same reading. Picking opened at the start of September with sparkling bases, moved to the whites from mid month, and continued with Dolcetto and Barbera from the second ten days of September, slowed by bad weather. Nebbiolo came in during October, as in classic vintages. Growers in the Deditus association told WineNews that the threat of autumn rain forced a faster pick than planned.

• Mild winter with rain that partly rebuilt soil water reserves
• Mild spring, classic budbreak timing, fast shoot growth on fine April to early May weather
• Frequent rain from late May through June erased the water deficit and drove intense canopy and spray work before flowering
• Summer rain with elevated temperatures but no excessive peaks; drought risk gone, management pressure high
• Late August sampling: lower sugars than 2023 with good acid balance across white then black varieties
• Harvest dates: sparkling bases from early September, whites from mid September, Dolcetto and Barbera from the second ten days of September, Nebbiolo in October
• Yields: a regular year for production in the Consorzio's words, with bunch numbers good on average but uneven by site

The Deditus association, whose members include Azelia, Cordero di Montezemolo, Sandrone, Michele Chiarlo, Pio Cesare, Poderi Gianni Gagliardo, Poderi Luigi Einaudi, Prunotto and Vietti, gave WineNews a shared read of the year as an exercise in resilience. Lorenzo Scavino of Azelia called it a unique experience for younger growers, with weather conditions not seen in the previous 30 years, and pointed to spring rain and a summer with heat peaks as the main drivers of vineyard work. Stefano Chiarlo of Michele Chiarlo described work that was almost surgical, with every bunch monitored, and singled out vineyard position, especially in the sunnier Sori di Barolo sites, as the difference maker. Enrico Olivieri, oenologist at Cordero di Montezemolo, called it a long harvest but short in actual picking days, because rain compressed the window. Luca Sandrone noted that while the year was atypical against the last 20 vintages, it does not sit far from the area's historical average. Eugenio Palumbo of Vietti said the rain did real good for young vineyards that had been tested by the previous vintage.

• Lorenzo Scavino, Azelia: weather conditions unlike anything in the last 30 years, with spring rain and summer heat peaks driving the vineyard work
• Stefano Chiarlo, Michele Chiarlo: bunch-by-bunch monitoring, with vineyard position in the Sori di Barolo sites making the difference
• Enrico Olivieri, Cordero di Montezemolo: a long harvest but short in real picking days, because rain forced compressed scheduling
• Luca Sandrone: atypical against the last 20 years, yet not far from the area's historical average
• Eugenio Palumbo, Vietti: rain arrived in time to rescue young vineyards stressed by the previous vintage

Both the Consorzio and the growers point the same way on style. The Consorzio expects fine and elegant wines with moderate but well balanced alcohol, especially from well exposed vineyards farmed precisely, and notes that thinned vineyards carrying a smaller crop gave clearly better numbers including polyphenol accumulation. Lorenzo Scavino of Azelia told WineNews that with alcohol slightly lower than past vintages and optimal acidity, the wines promise to be fresh and balanced. Stefano Gagliardo of Poderi Gianni Gagliardo said the wines could show a finer profile than other years but with real elegance, adding that tannins are ripe and aromas already promising. Cesare Benvenuto of Pio Cesare offered the useful caution that vintages first called critical often redeem themselves later.

• Consorzio expectation: fine, elegant wines with moderate but well balanced alcohol, best from well exposed and precisely farmed sites
• Crop load mattered: thinned vineyards with smaller production gave decidedly better fruit, including polyphenol accumulation
• Azelia: slightly lower alcohol than recent vintages with optimal acidity, pointing to fresh and balanced wines
• Poderi Gianni Gagliardo: a finer profile than other years but of real elegance, with ripe tannins and promising aromas

A fresher, more moderate Nebbiolo vintage suits the Piedmontese table without needing the heaviest dishes to hold it up. The Consorzio's read of fine, elegant wines with balanced alcohol and good acidity is a natural fit for the region's egg pasta and slow-cooked meats, and the Dolcetto and Barbera of the year, picked in September, belong with everyday Langhe cooking.

• Brasato al Barolo: the classic braise, where acidity does the cutting rather than sheer weight
• Tajarin with butter and white Alba truffle: aromatic Nebbiolo against the region's signature pasta
• Agnolotti del plin: small stuffed pasta served with roast juices, a Langhe standard
• Vitello tonnato and Castelmagno: lighter Piedmontese plates for the year's Barbera and Dolcetto