1978-1990 Vietti Barolos and Barbarescos Blindtasted

1978-1990 Vietti Barolos and Barbarescos
Introduction by Ross B., our tasting organizer
The history of Vietti began in the mid-1800s as a set of prime vineyards tended by the Vietti family in the Piedmonte region of Italy. For the first 50 years, grapes from these vineyards were sold to other wineries, and it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that a winery was built and wines produced under the Vietti label, an effort led by Mario Vietti, the owner and first winemaker.

Mario Vietti's daughter, Luciana, married Alfredo Currado, who took over winemaking duties about 1950. Alfredo was a innovator and pioneer, and was a major factor in bringing Vietti to international prominence. He was one of the first Piedmonte winemakers to introduce single vineyard Barolos and Barbarescos, and was also credited for the resurrection of Arneis, a distinctive local white grape that is the major component in Roero whites. In 1970 he began a new series of labels featuring painting from local artists, and these unique labels continue through to the present. In 1990, Luca Currado, his son, took over winemaking duties, and remains the current winemaker.

The Vietti estate comprises about 60 acres in the Barolo region, planted almost exclusively to Nebbiolo. They also buy from surrounding Piedmonte vineyards to produce several individual vineyard Barberas, Dolcettos, Arneis, and Moscatos. In addition, they produce a very fine Barbaresco from the Masseria vineyard, and a varietally labeled Nebbiolo from the San Michele vineyard in the Roero appellation.

If you are interested in a few pictures of the Vietti winery, there are some delightful ones at: http://www.weimax.com/vietti_p.htm

All of the wines that we will try tonight were made by Alfredo Currado. His approach was very much the traditional Barolo style, with grapes macerated extensively on the skins and then aged in old oak puncheons. The wines are often unapproachable for the first decade or so, but then can fill out and blossom into layered, complex, beautiful wines which seemed completely unrelated to the original wine. We will try eight Nebbiolos, including two Barolos, four Barbarescos, and two San Michele Nebbiolos. Tasting notes or rankings don't exist for most of these, but here's the lineup and a few notes that I found:

1978 Barolo "Rocche" (13.9%) (92/100, Wine Spectator) From an outstanding year for Piedmont.

1979 Barbaresco "Masseria" (13.5%)

1981 Barbaresco "Masseria" (12.5%)

1982 Barolo "Riserva-Villero" (12.5%): "Translucent ruby. The 1982 Villero, by contrast, is a fully mature wine. It offers rich sensations of spices, leather, beef bouillon, macerated cherries and prunes with incredible finesse and persistence, closing with well-integrated, fine tannins." (91/100, Robert Parker, 2006)
1985 Nebbiolo "San Michele" (12.5%)

1986 Barbaresco "Rabaja" (12.5%)

1988 Barbaresco "Masseria" (12.5%): "Vietti's 1988s are classic wines from this traditional Piedmontese winemaker. Both are big, forceful, tannic wines that are meant to be cellared. The 1988 Barbaresco-Masseria exhibits a dusty, dark ruby color, a jammy, black-cherry, roasted nut-scented nose, rich, powerful, full-bodied flavors" (90/100, Robert Parker)

1990 Nebbiolo "San Michele" (12.5%): Another great vintage in Piedmonte (97/100 by Wine Spectator)

What a treat to taste a well-stored, surprisingly youthful sampling of aged Vietti Nebbiolo-based wines going back almost 30 years. I've been a fan of new releases and recent vintages from Vietti for the past few years, so it was great to see how they might develop with some decades in the bottle. I generally liked all of them (and I think each would, no doubt, have "killed" alongside a plateful of truffled pasta), but a few rose to the top for me based on the complexity of the nose and palate, as well as the integration of the tannins and length. For me and our large group of tasters tonight, the top ranking bottle was the '85 Nebbiolo "San Michele," closely followed by the '82 Barolo "Riserva-Villero." Weakest for the group was the '86 Barbaresco "Rabaja," which is clearly past its prime. Also on the other side of the hill at this point is the '78 Barolo "Rocche." I was also a little surprised that the '90 Nebbiolo "San Michele" didn't have a stronger showing. It was lovely initially, but faded in the glass for me more dramatically than any of the others.

• 1985 Vietti Nebbiolo d'Alba San Michele 93 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba

  Group's #1 (my #1) – 60 pts; 4 firsts, 5 seconds, 1 third, 2 last places – intriguing herbal, sage and savory nose; tight, tart cherry and dried cherry palate, with high acidity, still quite young tasting; medium-plus finish

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• 1982 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Group's #2 (my #2) – 64 pts; 2, 3, 3, 0 – solid Balsamic and dried cherry focused nose, with a high note; tight but delicious dried cherry palate, that gets tangy with black cherry notes toward medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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• 1981 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Group's #3 (my #6) – 73 pts; 4, 1, 1, 0 – light garnet in color and a little cloudy; tart red fruit nose with a ripe tomato note; medium-bodied sweet, tangy, tart red fruit and plum palate with delicacy, mature but still needs time; medium-plus finish

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• 1988 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Group's #4 (my #4) – 79 pts; 2, 1, 0, 0 – tangy tart cherry nose with VA and a deep Balsamic note; tangy, smoky cherry palate with depth, a Balsamic quality, high acidity; medium-plus finish

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• 1990 Vietti Nebbiolo d'Alba San Michele 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba

  Group's #5 (my #8) – 82 pts.; 2, 3, 1, 3 – static savory, dry sausage and dried cherry nose; nice tart red fruit and dried cherry palate with sweet tannins, but it faded out markedly over 90 minutes in the glass; medium finish

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• 1978 Vietti Barolo Rocche 91 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Group's #6 (my #5) – 87 pts.; 2, 0, 2, 3 – odd vinegary, tart tomato and maple nose; tart, earthy, Balsamic, tangy cranberry palate with high acidity; medium-plus finish 91+ pts.

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• 1979 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Group's #7 (my #3) – 94 pts.; 2, 2, 3, 4 – lightest in color, a translucent, pale red; lovely, redolent dried cherry and raisin nose with a hint of milk chocolate; tart, sweet, light cherry palate with depth and tangy edges; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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• 1986 Vietti Barbaresco Rabajà 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Group's #8 (my #7) – 111 pts.; 0, 1, 2, 4 – darkest in color, a light-medium cherry red; light, dried cherry and cranberry nose; very tart red fruit entry, with sweet, upfront tannins, but a delicacy in the mid-palate; dusty medium finish 90+ pts.

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