Piedmont 1999

by Charles Laverick, cl@tastings.com

I have just spent the last two weeks in Piedmont tasting my way through another set of highly anticipated vintages at carefully organized blind tastings. While this trip was supposed to be a coronation of the much-hyped 1998s, it ended up being eclipsed by the more classically proportioned 1999 vintage.

(Comprehensive reviews of the 1998 and 1999 vintage are posted in the Insider's Club section of Tastings.com. See them here. If you have not got a password, it only costs $20 a year. Sign up here)

The current Barolo vintage coming on line, 1998, was another unusually hot year that saw severe heat speaks during the growing season. While the grapes were harvested with intense ripeness levels, the heat had served to dull the wines' acidity levels. What we are left with is a mixed bag of wines with many communes producing the lowest percentage of outstanding wines since 1995. Don't get me wrong, 1998 is not a bad vintage. There are loads of outstanding wines to be sure, but the vintage can't be described as classic. The communes of Monforte and Serralunga, in particular, suffered from overly muscular wines, with subdued aromatic qualities, heavy tannins, lower acidity levels, and prematurely aging colors. Barolo and La Morra, on the whole, were better balanced, with the extra lift of acidity and lower extract levels that these communes are known for being put to great effect in 1998.

As for 1999, the next vintage of Barbaresco, what seemed on paper to be a weaker vintage than 1998 has turned out to be a real classic. The wines are on a par with 1996, if not better. They have great structure, aromatic intensity, balance, and elegance. From top to bottom, in all three Barbaresco communes, I have never seen such consistency. There are very few poor examples. This is a real credit to the vintage as my pre-release samplings of 1999 Barolos indicate that it was just as successful in the Barolo zone.

In my discussions with over 40 winemakers in the region there is almost universal consensus that 1999 will rival 1996 as the best vintage of the last decade and most feel it will come out on top in the end. Winemakers also recognized the 1998s as lacking somewhat in finesse and not a single producer understood the hype in the U.S. market over the 1997 vintage. The 1997 vintage produced wines that were very flattering to taste in youth and are certainly enjoyable on a hedonistic level today. The 1997s are softer in style with extreme ripeness making for fruity, high alcohol wines that will drink well over the next several years. For real aficionados, however, the 1996 and 1999 vintages are the ones that will easily win out in the end.

If you can find any 1996s on store shelves, you would be wise to snap them up while you wait for the 1999s to arrive. Remember, with Barolo and Barbaresco you have to act fast. The two regions combined produce far less wine than does the "little" commune of Pauillac in Bordeaux and all of the great wines put together are made in lower quantities than your average vintage of Opus One!