Most wine labels do not give you a sense of the scale of the operation that produced the bottle. Is it a mass-produced product, designed to fly off supermarket shelves, or did it come from a small, family-run, organic farm? Today’s 2015 Barolo is the latter, although it is priced more like the former. As I’ve said before, the market has identified a baseline price for a proper, artisan-scale Barolo, and it’s higher than $39—so anytime it isn’t, you can bet we’re going to make noise about it.
The Eraldo Viberti family farms just six hectares of vines in the village of La Morra, only two of which contain Nebbiolo grapes for Barolo. Their methods have been organic forever, but they made it official by obtaining certification in 2018. So, not only is this true-blue “artisanal” Barolo for $39, it’s impeccably balanced, seductively drinkable Barolo from the outstanding 2015 vintage. If you’ve subscribed to SommSelect for any length of time, you know how we feel about 2015 Barolos—nearly everything we’ve tasted has been incredible, and when you factor in the value component, Viberti’s may be the best yet. It perfectly captures what I think is the “secret sauce” of the 2015 vintage: If you were to compare it to other recent vintages of the same wine, you’d find it a touch juicier and more forward than what is typical for “young” Barolo. It’s not austere, but it’s not overripe or overblown, either; like so many ’15s, it toes this beautiful line between joyful and “serious.” It is immensely enjoyable now, but it will also age for decades—a trait it shares with top-tier Burgundian Pinot Noir, which is nowhere near as tannic as Nebbiolo but ages beautifully nonetheless. I suspect there will be others, but right now, I’m obsessed with this wine: It will go down as one of the greatest red wine values you’ll see all year.
For those of you well-versed in the intricacies of Barolo, note that Viberti’s ’15 is a textbook example of “La Morra” Barolo: Traditionally, this village, which neighbors the town of Barolo itself on the western side of the Barolo DOCG zone, has produced marginally less tannic, more fruit-driven wines in comparison to villages to the east, like Serralunga d’Alba. It’s a similar phenomenon to what occurs from village to village in Burgundy—subtle variations in soil composition and exposure are reflected in the styles of the finished wines. Most of La Morra’s vineyards are southeast- or south-facing, which exposes them more to morning sun, and the soil composition is a little more clay-heavy, producing Nebbiolo grapes with gentler tannins. Of course, everything is relative—this is still a red wine with often formidable tannins, regardless of which village it comes from, but La Morra wines more often fall into the “firm,” rather than “ferocious,” camp.
Viberti’s Barolo production is centered around two acclaimed “cru” vineyards in La Morra: “Roncaglie,” a south-facing site at about 350 meters’ elevation, and the south/southeast-facing “Rocchetevino,” just upslope from “Rocche dell’Annunziata,” which may be La Morra’s best-known single vineyard. Today’s Barolo DOCG bottling draws on younger-vine fruit from both sites, although for the Vibertis, “younger” means 20-25 years old. Aged for 24 months in French oak barrels before bottling, it’s also a perfect example of the blurring of the lines between “traditional” and “modern” styles of Barolo: The lengthy period this wine spent macerating on its skins during fermentation would qualify it as “traditional,” while the smaller, newer barrels for aging would be considered “modern.” What I taste when I taste this 2015 is exceptionally pure, impeccably balanced Nebbiolo showing an extremely subtle oak influence. Fruit and earth are at the fore, especially as the wine takes on air. This is a classic Barolo, through and through—methodology takes a back seat to terroir.
Decant this wine 30-60 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems, and you will be one very happy oenophile. You can also be confident that this wine will be singing in full voice on its 10th birthday and well beyond that. What else could you ask for in a $39 bottle of wine? In the glass, it’s a bright garnet-red moving to pink and a hint of orange at the rim, with Nebbiolo’s full panorama of fruit, floral, and earthy aromas all wafting from the glass: black and red cherry, blood orange, wild strawberry, sandalwood, saddle leather, pipe tobacco, and underbrush. In 2015, the fruit has that little extra layer of concentration, which masks some of the tannins and lends accessibility, but there’s lots of buoyancy to the wine—there’s no sappiness, just picked-at-the-perfect-moment ripeness complemented by all the savory, mineral notes Nebbiolo is so famous for. Falling on the more elegant, finessed end of the Barolo spectrum, this wine will be delicious with a wide range of classic Piedmontese dishes, but in the spirit of adventure I’m recommending something from a little further afield. No matter what you choose, however, you’re going to remember this wine, so don’t stop at one bottle. Enjoy!
