Barolo Sheds its Skin: 2022 Vintage Forces a Reset

“Barolo grapes are usually harvested wearing boots, not Crocs,” is how Luca Currado Vietti, the owner of Cascina Penna-Currado in the Langhe, aptly summed up the 2022 harvest – and the latest Barolos, released at the start of this year, are the result of this notoriously drought-stricken vintage. On paper, almost everything seemed to work against it. In the glass, however, the wines are unexpectedly fresh, precise, even elegant – and markedly better overall than 2017, 2018 or even 2020 in terms of drinkability now.

We tasted close to 350 samples of Barolo 2022 – along with Barolo Riserva 2021s and some Barolos from older vintages – early last month at the Albeisa Consortium and in the cellars of the Langhe producers we visited. Among them, Currado Vietti is a particularly credible voice on 2022, not least because he has no vested interest in the vintage. His first Barolo from the 2023 harvest for the project he runs with his wife, Cascina Penna-Currado, will not be released until next year.

In Barolo’s poor, steep soils, winter snowfall is key to building the necessary water reserves for vines, but in 2022, “the real anomaly was the lack of even basic winter rainfall” said Fabio Alessandria of G.B. Burlotto – with the result being that every early phenological stage for the vines unfolded under drought conditions.

According to Federica Boffa of Pio Cesare, the vines risked shutting down as early as June due to lack of oxygen, but most producers took sensible measures to prevent carnage in the vineyards. For Chiara Boschis of E. Pira & Figli, "What saved us were 30 years of gentle pruning ... and also hail nets used to protect against sunburn."

The harvest came 10 to 20 days earlier than average. “In Cannubi, we started picking on Sept.12, an all-time record,” Boschis said. Added Alessandria: “It’s hard to find a comparable vintage. You have to go back to 1947-48, when there was so much drought that wheat wasn't even harvested.

Several producers were hit so hard In 2022 that they didn't bother producing some of their usual wines – Giacomo Conterno's Monfortino Riserva and G.B. Burlotto's Monvigliero among them. 

The picture admittedly sounds bleak, and yet when tasting the 2022 Barolos, one is left wondering where all the freshness, minty aromas, balance, grace and ripe tannins came from. They’re rounder than the austere 2017s, fuller than the often diluted 2018s and even finer than the warm 2020s.

The drought, starting early in the season, forced the vines to adapt. Many producers, including Ascheri and Burlotto, reported shoots “that never reached the third wire of the trellis system.” With limited water reserves, nebbiolo’s notorious vigor was naturally curbed, along with excess sugar accumulation and imbalances between sugar and tannin ripeness.

The vineyard equilibrium achieved in 2022 – regular flowering, low yields, healthy grapes and moderate sugar levels – made early harvesting an obvious choice rather than a gamble. In Barolo, the long-held belief that greatness required late picking has quietly dissolved.

“Once upon a time in Barolo, if you had broad shoulders – if you could afford to wait and take risks – you harvested late to make great wines” Alessandria said. “Today that no longer holds. Ripening is much earlier, and waiting serves no purpose.”

The vintage also forced a philosophical reset. Barolo is changing, not by abandoning structure, but by shedding outdated assumptions about hot and cool years. “2022 taught us humility,” said Stefano Gagliardo of Gianni Gagliardo. “Those who thought they had already figured everything out had to rethink. Drought, heat, then, when making the wines, yes, there’s a softer tendency, but tension and precision are still there. Barolo is changing, becoming modern. We need to move beyond the logic that hot years equal sweet wines and cool years equal hard ones.”

The quality of wines such as the Arnaldo Rivera Barolo Villero 2022 – a full-bodied and balanced bottle with shining concentration and a velvety structure – underscore this vintage’s innate virtues as well as the enduring axiom that great wines favor low yields, even in an era of global warming.

The final transformation occurred in the cellar. Since 2017, many producers have scaled back strongly extractive practices such as very long macerations and submerged caps. In 2022, fermentations were generally conducted at slightly lower temperatures, with fewer punch-downs and pump-overs, and wines were often racked off close to the end of alcoholic fermentation. The resulting Barolos are refined, transparent and polished. “They may not last 70 years,” Roberto Conterno of Giacomo Conterno conceded, but clarity and balance are undeniable.

If the vintage shows a weakness, it is the degree of homogeneity among crus – and occasionally among communes. Reduced vine uptake of soil-derived compounds may explain why site distinctions are sometimes less emphatic than usual. Yet this same trait benefits blended Barolos, revitalizing the classic multi-commune style and enhancing drinkability and complexity for a broader audience.

Some producers leaned into this opportunity. Burlotto chose not to bottle its single-vineyard crus in 2022, instead channeling all the fruit into the estate’s classic Barolo blend. The result is exceptional: a full-bodied, muscular yet balanced wine with vermouth-like aromatics of cinnamon candy, rhubarb, potpourri, wild strawberries and dried cherries. It is not only one of the strongest wines of the vintage, but also unusually accessible in availability and value for a traditionally allocation-only label.

Another standout among the classic blends is Federica Boffa’s and Cesare Benvenuto Pio’s Pio Cesare Barolo 2022. Produced at 20 percent lower volume following severe selection across Monforte, Serralunga, Grinzane Cavour and La Morra, it ranks among the finest Barolos the estate has made. Perfumed and slightly old-fashioned in the best sense, it delivers mint, flowers, wild strawberries, pomegranate and bergamot, with firm grainy tannins and a polished, expressive finish.

Assessing commune performance is a more difficult proposition for the 2022 vintage. Cannubi and Brunate appear to have suffered more than other Barolo subzones overall, yet the Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate 2022 stands out as the finest wine of the vintage. Fully restrained yet intoxicating, it layers licorice root and embers over citrus freshness, followed by minty balsamic perfumes and creamy, savory depth. The tannic grip and iron-rich character are unmistakably Brunate.

Barolo’s historic Villero cru delivered 2022 wines that are remarkable and more balanced than usual, as exemplified by Giacomo Fenocchio’s Barolo Villero 2022. It’s open, floral and transparent, with roses, lilacs, dried flowers and red berries framed by clarity, vibrancy and focused acidity. This is a truly exceptional expression of the vintage.

Gianni Gagliardo’s Barolo Lazzarito Vigna Preve 2022 also excels, aided by its atypical exposure opposite the classic Serralunga slope. Bright cherries, wild strawberries, rhubarb and blood orange are wrapped in balsamic depth, with velvety tannins and refreshing acidity. It is serious and structured, requiring time to fully unfold.

Older riservas tasted alongside the 2022s – including the perfect-scoring Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barolo Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2020, Ettore Germano Lazzarito Riserva 2020, Massolino Vigna Rionda Riserva 2020, Roberto Voerzio Case Nere Riserva 10 Anni 2016, Damilano Barolo Cannubi Riserva 1752 2019 and Giacomo Conterno Monfortino Riserva 2020 – serve as reminders of Barolo’s long-haul potential.

Bruno Giacosa's 2020 riserva, in particular, stands out for its mesmerizing aromas and endless finish. James said of it: "I remember when I first tasted this from barrel and I thought about the perfect 2000 Barolo Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2020. It is just like that. It’s an incredible red label riserva."

Ultimately, 2022 will be remembered as a turning point for Barolo: the year that definitively ushered the appellation into modernity. Early harvesting is no longer taboo; fermentation temperatures are lower; macerations shorter; submerged caps less extractive; and attitudes toward vintages less dogmatic – certainly among producers, and, one hopes, among the most discerning drinkers as well.

The wines are clear, refined and confidently ripe without excess. For lovers of old-school Barolo – dark, tarry, forbidding and destined for decades in the cellar – this is not the year. But for those drawn to expressive, layered wines that balance generosity with precision, 2022 stands out as a beautiful and compelling vintage. The wines are full-bodied yet free of the angular edges that demand prolonged cellaring. While additional complexity will undoubtedly emerge over a decade or more, the grace already on display makes them deeply appealing today.

For those seeking the experience of what the renowned Italian writer and poet Cesare Pavese said are the "three noses" (one whiff is not enough!) needed to drink Barolo, the riservas released this year – drawn from 2021, 2020, 2019 and, in some cases, 2016 – offer exceptional depth and complexity. Together, they frame 2022 not as an outlier, but as the moment Barolo decisively stepped into its modern era.

– Aldo Fiordelli, Senior Editor

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