Barolo

The Trediberri 2017 Barolo is bright red in colour. Textbook aromas of sour red cherries, red berries, rose, violet and sweet spices jump from the glass. Then more of the same in the mouth, with lively acidity and youthfully chewy but not gritty tannins extending and supporting the flavours nicely on the long, refined finish. A measure of Nicola Oberto’s talent is that in a year as hot and dry as 2017, when many a Barolo estate turned out tough wines marked by tannins that will never resolve fully, Trediberri did not fare at all as poorly, succeeding in making a Barolo that while obviously the child of a hot year, is light on its feet and rather well-balanced. I remember tasting this very wine from barrel a few years ago during a winery visit and already then it had struck me as a very successful wine; and there is nothing in my glass today that would have me change my mind. Made from grapes picked in different vineyards of La Morra (in fact, this is the last vintage to be made with grapes from the Capalot cru as well as the others), the alcoholic fermentation took place in concrete tanks for about twelve-fourteen days (with the must remaining in contact with the skins for about three weeks). Then malolactic was carried out in oak and the wine aged for about twenty months in 52-hl and 25-hl oak barrels. Last but not least, the wine’s pretty label is by Pierflavio Gallina, one of Piedmont’s foremost artists, whose works are present in both private and public collections, such as those of the Robert Mondavi Collection in California, the Museo Civico di Recanati, the Regional Enoteca in Barolo.

This 2017 Trediberri Barolo has light aromas of sweet spice, pepper, and green and red fruits, with mint, tea leaf and balsamic notes. It is very round and smooth on the palate with a medium-plus body, some concentration and firm but fine gravelly textured tannins. This is an attractive wine with a modern, clean structure and some firmness.