Barbaresco 2021 Vintage Report: Taking Finesse to a New Level

They share the same grape variety, the same climate and often much of the same soil, yet Barbaresco and Barolo must be evaluated separately, harvest by harvest. The last two vintages to be released, 2021 and 2020, are no exceptions.

This is why Barbaresco’s 2021, which hits the market a year before Barolo, doesn’t tell us anything about Barolo’s 2021; nor were the 2020 vintages of each region comparable. Fate seems to have played the role of the goddess of justice between the two regions, by way of the amount of rain each received during harvest.

In 2020, “Barbaresco saw 40 millimeters of rain right at the beginning of October, during the harvest, while Barolo had 100 millimeters,” explained enologist Gianluca Torrengo of Prunotto, an Antinori family-owned winery that operates in both appellations.

The vintage in Barbaresco that year benefited from the lighter rainfall, and the resulting wines are delightful, with ripe, velvety tannins. They are juicy and ready to drink, with no dilution or thinness.

The 2020 vintage has been referred to as the “Covid vintage” – one in which producers could tend to their vineyards with exceptional care since they were essentially confined to them. However, this meticulous attention alone doesn’t explain the outstanding quality of the tannins, which in red wines account for 90 percent of the wine’s overall quality. In our view, this quality is the result of the vintage's balance.

In 2021, though, the opposite occurred, with more precipitation in Barbaresco than Barolo. Yet, to fully understand Barbaresco wines from that year, we need to take a step back to see how the season began. Gaia Gaja, the fifth-generation owner of Gaja wines, said that there a damaging spring frost on April 7 and April 8 in Barbaresco. “We lost 30 percent of the production in Sorì San Lorenzo,” she said referring to one of their main vineyards, where they grow nebbiolo, which is highly sensitive to cold in the early stages of growth.

Local vintners say nebbiolo clusters go “into tendrils” due to cold winds, with temperatures that drop to just three or four degrees Celsius (37-39 Farhenheit) enough to cause damage. The reduced production at the start of the 2021 season contributed to concentration in the clusters, which were small despite the rain – so much so that “they looked like barbera grapes,” Gaja said.

But mature tannins, pH levels 0.1 points lower than in 2020 and cooler average temperatures led to wines with a more classic profile. These have depth and structure, suitable for long aging, but they aren’t too austere, with the Gaja Barbaresco Costa Russi 2021 a prime example.

The spring of 2021 ushered in a long period of good weather that extended through the summer, with temperatures remaining moderate and within seasonal averages, punctuated by a few thunderstorms in June and July. The excellent diurnal temperature variation during harvest allowed the grapes to reach an optimal state of ripeness, balancing sugar, acidity and phenolic compounds.

Certain areas of Barbaresco, like Roncaglie or Socre, with the presence of white silt – known locally as “tuat”– produced riper grapes,  leading to shorter fermentations and macerations. More powerful, clay-rich zones like Ovello will need more time. Elegant areas like Asili found an extraordinary balance in this vintage.

It’s no coincidence that four of the top 10 wines on our list below are from Asili. One might argue that the two best wines – Bruno Giacosa’s Falletto Barbaresco Rabajà 2021 and Gaja’s Sorì San Lorenzo 2021 – are crus known for their power, but they are also handled by two wineries that have made finesse their hallmark.

The Rabajà has perfumes of strawberries, cherries and some flint, terra cotta, peaches and orange peel. Its consistency and length are so beautiful. The Sori San Lorenzo, meanwhile, is exotic and wild – even flamboyant – and classic and soft on the palate with great length.

But to really understand the 2021 Barbaresco vintage, one must go through the entire Asili flight. The fascinating nose of the Bruno Giacosa Falleto Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2021 is allied to powerful yet caressing tannins; the racy red fruit character of Ceretto’s Asili powers its firm and fresh style; the floral bouquet of Carlo Giacosa’s Asili complements the elegance of the tannins;  the pinot-like finesse of Ca’ del Baio’s Asili is almost silky on the palate.

Among the other 2021 Barbarescos deserving mention, il Bricco from Pio Cesare is dominated by a dark and deep aromatic profile with linear, long tannins and a powerful finish, yet it’s polished and refined at the same time. The Vürsù Starderi from La Spinetta shines for its graceful aromas with a hibiscus touch, as well as for its full body with gorgeous, soft and creamy tannins.

Special mention goes to the Produttori del Barbaresco – the renowned cooperative winery that has just released its village wine, which always offers one of the best quality-to-price ratios of any Barbaresco wine.

– Aldo Fiordelli, Senior Editor

Note: The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated in 2024 by the tasters at JamesSuckling.com. You can sort the wines by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.