Vietti ‘Perbacco’ Langhe Nebbiolo MAGNUM 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Designation: Langhe DOC Nebbiolo

Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo

Winemaking: Vinification of grapes coming from different vineyards of Nebbiolo most of all included in the Barolo and from the last couple of vintages, from the Barbaresco area too.
Alcoholic fermentation lasts around 3/4 weeks. Each parcel is processed and aged separately until when they select the ones will be included for the blend of Perbacco or the ones that will keep ageing to become Barolo Castiglione (excluding the parcels from Barbaresco).

Aging: Total ageing is approximately 2 years. After malolactic done both in barrique and big Slavonian casks, the wine keeps ageing in oak for 2 years. Blending in steel tanks to follow prior bottling.

Description: Offers up generous fruit along with menthol, spices and hard candy, showing notable intensity while retaining an essentially mid-weight style. Strong, intense and powerful when young, complex and elegant with the ageing.

About Vietti

Back in 2005, I spent some time at Vietti. Their winery sits in the castle atop Castiglione Falletto. It’s walls broken by slit windows for archers to defend the grounds. The escape tunnel leading from the castle to the plains below had been filled in only a few years prior to my visit. Somehow they’ve managed to modernise aspects of the winery carving into the rock without collapsing the ancient buildings surrounding it.

One of my earlier experiences of Vietti was at the Australian Wine Research Institutes Advanced Wine Assessment Course. A blind bracket of 9 Nebbiolo’s was presented, Vietti’s Perbacco from 1998 and Brunate from 1996. The Brunate was superb. My notes from the tasting read “Very complex, great harmony, texture, rich, long, very together, perfumed, incredible layers and vibrancy.” The Perbacco excellent, particularly at 1/8th the price. “Great purity, balance, and poise. Supple with an excellent core of fruit and lovely floral notes.”

In many ways, little has changed. Perbacco, typically declassified Barolo, is the wine to crack while you’re waiting for your Barolo to mature!

Luca & Elena have always stayed true to their convictions, and, history, acknowledging the wisdom of their family, and elder peers. They have also worked to protect patches of history for both their family and the region. Listen to Luca share his stories of retaining the Scarrone vineyard planted to Barbera when his father had planned to replant it to Nebbiolo, saving Arneis from being reconciled to a note in a wine book, and, more recently going back to Barbaresco, acquiring a parcel or Rabajà, and this becomes clear.

The drive for constant improvement continues with a parcel of Monvigliero now in the stables, whole bunch techniques are being applied with the help of Jeremy Seysses from Dujac. Meanwhile, Vietti has released it’s first Timorasso, a wine that I am looking forward to trying. Grapes coming from vineyards located in Monleale in the Alessandria Province.

Vietti intrigues me. Some of the best Barolo I have devoured have come from their winery. Watching the wines evolve over time, both the same vintage and across vintages has been fascinating. Modern technology at times pierced the tradition. Last year a vertical tasting going back to 1982 was fascinating. It again highlighted my growing consensus that the drinking window for good Barolo, from great years, starts at around 10 years and is right in the zone between 15 and 20 years. The Villero Riserva is in the rare class of Barolo that will push this window out to 30 years+.

Whilst Vietti have always produced more structured wines, they have never shifted to the overt new oak regimes of the likes of Clerico. The wines have always shown harmony and balance.

The Vietti family has been producing wine in Castiglione Falletto in the heart of Le Langhe in Piedmont for five generations, with 33 estate vineyards located across all 11 communes designated for the cultivation and production of Barolo, plus Roero for Arneis and Agliano Asti for Barbera and Moscato. In 2016 Vietti was purchased by the American Krause family, however current generation winemaker Luca Currado-Vietti continues to direct the Vietti Estate meticulously, together with his wife Elena Penna-Currado, to produce some of the finest and most representative wines of Le Langhe.

Where in the World is Vietti?

The Krause Family bought Vietti a couple of years back, leaving, Luca and the Family in full control of production, hence the name below.

The 2019 Vintage

Vintage report of Consorzio di Tutela Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba Langhe e Dogliani

Unlike last year, which was particularly precocious, the 2019 vintage will be remembered for its decidedly more conventional course. The year in the vineyard began slowly due to the winter season lasting until February. This resulted in a delay in the arrival of spring, which brought about a period of rain and low temperatures until the middle of March. Nevertheless, plant growth resumed as per normal, and though it was slowed down initially by abundant rain in April, this also allowed a considerable amount of water to accumulate in the soil, compensating for the minimal rainfall during the winter. The changeable weather with mild average temperatures continued throughout May, confirming a delay of around two weeks compared to the growth patterns that had been seen over the previous few years, but in line with more traditional development. The high temperatures during June combined with the availability of water in the soil to create the conditions for rapid plant growth, which required vinegrowers to take great care over containing any plant protection issues. The hottest period in the season was recorded between the last week in June and the first in July, followed by days on which milder temperatures alternated with rain. The second heatwave of the summer was recorded at the end of July, ending in storms which did not damage the vines even though they were intense at times; the remainder of the summer season was marked by a mild climate, with regular, sporadic rainfall that proved challenging for vignerons in terms of plant health. September began with the only hail recorded in the Langa, when considerable damage was caused in limited areas hit during the most violent storm of the season on the 5th of the month. We can say that the damage was substantial, but fortunately fairly localized to two areas on the hills around Alba, missing most of the Barolo, Barbaresco and Dogliani growing areas.

The harvest began around mid-September with the white wine grape varieties, then continued without interruption with the Dolcetto, Barbera and finally Nebbiolo. We have seen a slight drop in production for all varietals, and as a result for all appellations, benefitting quality and balance. The white wines are showing good levels of alcohol, and slightly higher acidity than the average over recent years, which should however guarantee long, fresh aromas. The dolcetto grapes – mostly picked around September 17th – are showing very well in terms of phenols and sugar accumulation, and the acid profile also suggests potential of great elegance, with pinnacles of excellence in the area around Dogliani. Along with nebbiolo, barbera is maybe the varietal that most reveals the difference vineyard aspect can make, so the peaks of heat during the summer that accompanied temperatures otherwise within the norm for our growing area allowed the barbera to reach excellent phenolic levels at harvest-time, with slightly less alcoholic potential than last year and substantial acidity. The nebbiolo grapes were picked in the second half of October, and analysis parameters show them to be “classic”: in other words, with good sugar levels and an excellent polyphenol profile, which should ensure wines with good structure and excellent ageing potential. Worthy of note in particular is the high accumulation of anthocyanins, so the wines can be expected to have excellent color, especially considering the varietal’s genetic properties. In conclusion, in the winery the vintage can be said to be traditional, with a quality production despite a slight drop in quantity compared to last year.