Tasting Report: 2007 Barolo Part II

I tasted another three-dozen or so 2007 Barolos over the last couple of weeks in Italy in blind tastings, and I continue to love the vintage. It’s a year that really impresses you with its ripe fruit and fresh and firm tannins. Luca Currado of Castiglioni Falleto’s Vietti cantina says it is “one of my best vintages ever.”

Currado makes excellent wines almost every year as of recent, but he admits that 2007 is superior to the firmer and thinner 2006, and reminds him of a combination of the structure of 2004 and the richness of 2005. That sounds good to me. I think 2007 is similar to hot years such as 1989, 1990, 1997, and 2000. I love all those years.

Currado made one of the best wines of my 2007 Barolo tastings so far: Vietti Barolo Rocche. The wine shows so much intensity of ripe fruit and velvety tannins. It goes on for minutes. It’s hard not to drink now, but it will be so fabulous in three to four years. I scored it 98 points.

The other exceptional 2007 in my newest tasting was the 2007 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto Riserva. The maestro of Barolo, Bruno Giacosa, believes it is his greatest Barolo ever over his career that spans six decades. I am not sure, since I still have a slight preference for the same wine in 2000, but the wine shows an incredible depth of fruit and class. I gave the 2007 97 points.

I believe that 2007 is a year that you can buy across the board, so buy and enjoy. The vintage is definitely going to be a crowd pleaser with all its luscious fruit and ripe tannins.

Below are the tasting notes from this round of 2007 Barolo tastings. Check out the tasting from before to compare notes. There’s also a couple of 2006s scored, including a new wine from the dynamic Domenico Clerico – from a single vineyard near Serralunga with six different labels, although the same wine.