Wine Advisor
Vietti, Barolo Ravera 2010
View analysis
Description
Vietti, Barolo, Ravera, Piedmont, Italy, Still, Red, 2014
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
A stunning and vibrant Barolo, the 2010 Barolo Ravera meets the high expectations of the 2010 vintage thanks to its fluid evolution and evident complexity. Ravera delivers a level of smoothness and suppleness that shows the enormous versatility of Nebbiolo. This vineyard cru in particular is known for its direct and genuine expression of the grape. Floral aromas of rose and violet segue to enduring tones of truffle, cherry and mint. This is a stellar wine with great aging potential. Drink: 2018-2035. Importer: Dalla Terra Winery Direct, www.dallaterra.com
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2010 Barolo Ravera is one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted from Vietti. Stunning. It's as simple as that Freshly cut flowers, mint, spices, crushed rocks and pine jump from the glass in a vivid, crystalline wine endowed with captivating purity, clarity and finesse. The 2010 takes hold of the palate and never lets up, gaining body, breadth and volume over time. A breathtaking, perfumed finish rounds out the finish. The Ravera represents a bit of a stylistic departure for Vietti and a return to a more traditional style of winemaking. The 2010 was done entirely in cask, with minimal racking. In its early years, it was virtually impossible to taste as the reductive winemaking style gave a wine with closed aromatics and searing tannin. Today, the 2010 is beginning to blossom into an epic Barolo. The 2010 Ravera may well be the single greatest Barolo Luca Currado has ever made. It is also a wine that, along with the Barolos of Elvio Cogno, show just how much potential the hills of Ravera have to offer. Readers who can find the 2010 Ravera should not hesitate. It is a legendary, benchmark Barolo in the making. As an aside, a bottle of the 1999 I tasted last year was extraordinary, and it was made in the slightly more modern style that was typical at Vietti during that era.
About the Producer
Vietti is located in the Castiglione Falletto wine region in the Cuneo province of Piedmont, Italy. The wines produced by the winery are not only of excellent quality, among which the Vietti Barolo Ravera 2010 wine won a perfect score from the wine critic Antonio Galloni (Antonio Galloni), who was once the "Wine Spectator", but also launched the "Artist's Wine". The "target wine" idea adds a strong artistic flavor to the wine. The Vietti family's passion for art has so far been fully reflected in the creation of wine art labels. Since 1974, certain Vietti wines have been decorated with specially designed original works (lithographs, woodcuts, etchings, silkscreens, reliefs) inspired by specific vintages. The number of prints is the same as the number of bottles produced, with the first 100 labels signed by the artist. Each piece is used only once for a particular vintage. From the 1982 vintage of Barolo Villero sold in 1988, the artist's label has been dedicated to the wines made in this great vineyard. The history of Chateau Vietti can be traced back to the 19th century. But it wasn't until the early 20th century that Vietti became a winery and sold its own bottles under that name. The founder of the winery, Mario Vietti, began making the first Vietti wines in 1919, mainly for sale in Italy. His most important achievement was the transformation of a family farm in many industries into a viticulture and winemaking business. In 1952, Luciana Viett's husband, Alfredo Currado, continued to make high-quality wines from grapes from their own vineyards and from purchased grapes. Very quickly, Chateau Vietti grew into one of Piedmont's top wine producers and one of the first wineries to export to the American market. Alfredo was one of the first pioneers to select grapes from a single vineyard for winemaking, which was a radical concept at the time, but today virtually every Barolo and Barbaresco wine is made Merchants sell "single vineyard" or "appellation" wines. Alfredo is also known as the "Father of Arneis" because he spent much time in 1967 rediscovering and understanding this nearly extinct breed. Today Arnes is the most prestigious white wine from the Roero region north of Barolo. The wines made by Arnes are so successful that fellow vintners as far away as the West Coast are now cultivating Arnes to make wine! After 1970, the winery launched the idea of "wine with artist label". The Gualado family has 3 children: Emanuela, Elisabetta and Luca. In 1970, Alfredo and Luciana, thanks to their friendship and support with a number of local artists, started updating their labels. They mentioned that, on a long winter night in Langa, a group of artists were eating and drinking with them around the table, suggesting that they decorate their art at the winery with "art on the label". From that moment on, a new label for Vietti wines took shape, which is still in use today. At the same time, the idea of "artist-labeled wines" began to take shape and is still used in the winery's Barolo Riserva Villero.
