The 2021 vintage began with a mild winter, albeit one rich in precipitation, including snowfall, which ensured an excellent water supply that proved essential for the continuation of the growing season, which turned out to be the driest of recent years.
Vegetative growth resumed regularly and according to traditional timing, therefore not earlier than usual as had occurred the previous year. This made it possible to successfully cope with the final cold spell that occurred at the beginning of spring, limiting frost damage to the newly developed shoots. Even Nebbiolo, a variety with early development and therefore potentially more exposed, did not suffer significantly from the drop in temperatures, with only minor and localized damage in vineyards located at lower altitudes. In the subsequent phenological phases, a moderate crop load was observed, estimated at around -10% compared to 2020. This reduced the need for thinning operations while still allowing production levels in line with the regulations to be achieved.
With the arrival of spring, a long period of fair weather began and continued throughout the summer, with temperatures in line with seasonal averages and without extremes, especially during nighttime hours. In the first half of July, severe thunderstorms occurred, peaking on July 13, when a violent hailstorm hit parts of the territories of Castellinaldo, Castagnito, Guarene, and Canale in particular, causing even significant damage to vineyards in those areas. No damage, however, was recorded in the vineyards of Barolo and Barbaresco. The summer then continued regularly with limited rainfall, contributing to an excellent phytosanitary and qualitative situation at harvest.
The harvest began in mid-September with the picking of white grape varieties and Dolcetto. The former, in particular, showed excellent characteristics, such as an outstanding sugar content and a strong acidic profile, which should help preserve freshness.
Dolcetto is among the grape varieties that achieved the best results in relation to the vintage: the late budbreak typical of the variety avoided issues related to the cold of late spring, and summer nights without significant temperature fluctuations protected it from fruit drop, allowing it to reach harvest in optimal health and condition.
Barbera was harvested during the last week of September, under ideal conditions both from a technological and phenological point of view. The very high sugar content, combined with a more pronounced acidic profile compared to previous years—especially in terms of malic acid—will allow for the production of complex and long-lived wines.
The Nebbiolo harvest began in the final days of September and reached its peak in the second week of October. The clusters were healthy, with optimal phenological ripeness, supported by the drop in temperatures and the thermal variations observed from the second half of September onwards. From a quantitative standpoint, yields were optimal and well balanced, with berries visually smaller than in the previous year. These factors resulted in a significant polyphenolic content, essential for producing structured and balanced wines designed to age over time.
In conclusion, despite a vintage characterized by significant climatic variability—marked by late frosts, thunderstorms, summer hailstorms, and periods of drought—we achieved surprising results in terms of grape quality, perhaps also due to the not excessive production volumes.
Source: Consorzio di tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani