Wine Advisor
Vietti, Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2007
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Vietti’s 2007 Barolo Rocche possesses dazzling perfume, tons of fruit, plenty of supporting structure and exceptional overall balance. Not surprisingly, it is shaping up as one of the vintage’s most promising Barolos.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Vietti's 2007 Barolo Rocche is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. The bouquet alone is transcendental. The voluptuous, classy Rocche shows off endless layers of fruit in an exciting and totally alluring expression of Nebbiolo. The wine seems to float on the palate, as the essence of geraniums, red berries, hard candy and minerals conquer all of the senses. Fine, silky tannins frame a finish of breathtaking beauty. The Rocche spent a full 5 weeks of contact on the skins. Like all the Vietti Baroli, malolactic fermentation was carried out in French oak after which the wine was racked into large, neutral casks for aging. The 2007 Rocche is the very finest wine I have ever tasted from Vietti. I only hope Alfredo Currado had a chance to taste this at least a few times before he passed away last year. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2032. Sadly the world lost Alfredo Currado - one of Piedmont's pioneers - last year, but I am sure he would have been thrilled to see how his son's wines have turned out. Luca Currado's 2007 Baroli are every bit as impressive from bottle as they were from cask. Interestingly, Vietti is one of the few producers where the house style and vineyard nuances are just as evident as vintage character. Although the 2007s are gorgeous today, most of the wines shut down quickly in the glass, suggesting they may be headed for a period of stubbornness. All of the wines now see a fairly lengthy period of several weeks of contact on the skins, followed by malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels and aging in large, Slavonian oak casks. Always curious to explore, Currado continues to make small adjustments to vinification, including an experimental 2010 Barolo made with a strictly traditional approach that may end up being bottled only in magnum. I think it is fair to say readers will be stunned by the quality of the wines that are emerging from this family run property in Castiglione Falletto. An upcoming article on www.erobertparker.com will take an in-depth look at the estate's Barolo Riserva Villero. Importer: Dalla Terra, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 259-5405
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.
