2021 vintage report – Langhe e Roero

• 9 January 2025 /

L’annata 2021 was shaped by: abundant winter snow – April frost – a dry May – hot June & Aug. – warm Sept. with rain relief & cool nights – classic harvest date – low malic vs tartaric acid due to summer drought – less rain overall vs 2016, & marginally warmer!

 The year started well: a textbook winter, with snow & cold temperatures during January, & then cold during February, becoming warmer gradually in March, but April 6/7th minus 5.6 degrees (Grinzane Cavour) left frost damage of up to 50% in certain (lower-lying) vineyards (Brunate, Rocche dell’A, Gabutti, Monrobiolo di Bussia); ironically most damage in mid slope & best exposed vyds, notably in La Morra, Grinzane, Roddi; less so in Castiglione, Serralunga, Monforte. Welcome spring rain 10-12 April, turning cooler; fresh & unsettled for the rest of the month. May started warmer, up to 21 degrees, but cool nights; rain 10th, 23/24th May night has enjoyed a good soaking; a fairly fresh spring May, less wet than in 2020/2019/2018. Summer started on 31st May, to 27 degrees by 5pm, triggering flowering; week 7th June started with two nights of rain, before hotting up to 30 degrees (& 26 by night). June remained close to 30 degrees by day, but fresher by night. Week 12 July heralded a break in the weather, with cool overcast days; welcome rainstorm 13 July sera but hail in Vezza, Castellinaldo, Castagnito. The 2nd half of July had a cooler, August feel about it, with rain on 30 July. 2021 Nebbiolo da Barolo harvest was forecast to commence wk 4th or 10th Oct, due to April frost pushing the season back…but while the first two wks of August were relatively cool/typical, the heat returned on the eve of Ferragosto (15th). Week 16th Agosto remained at 30 degrees, cooling down on 19th Agosto; week 23rd August has notably cool nights & shorter hot days, which augurs well. Brief but welcome two hr rainshower at 6am on Monday 6th Sept, & then on 16 Sept. Rainy damp Sunday 3rd Oct brought a definite autumnal feel to the Langhe. The vines beginning to flag, but Nebbiolo fruit has held up well. Monday 4th Oct heavy downpour evening; Genoa witnessed heaviest on record: 496mm over 5 hrs! Wed. 6 Oct, Bartolo Mascarello started the Barolo harvest! Thurs. 7 Oct saw a 6 degree start to the day, rising to 24 by early afternoon, so perfect for F.lli Alessandria’s harvest of Monvigliero – the same date in 2001! Week 11th Oct stupendous weather: longer cold nights (4/6 degrees, sunny warm but short sunny 20 degree days) that’s transformed the face of the vintage. Matteo Ascheri harvested a week later than in 2020 (which is fairly consistent with other prods.) Roagna harvested Barbaresco week 4th Oct, & started picking (Barolo) Pira VV week 11th Oct; same date as Nicola at Trediberri, picking their 14yo Berri vyd. Wonderfully warm sunny days & cold nights through October. Some report tricky ferments due to low nitrogen levels (dry summer) & good acidities; BMascarello’s fermented for nearly a month, + another month’s capello sommerso. Roero: Tibaldi say rainfall was down 50% at 300mm in 2021, with drought rather than heat being the problem, leading to small bunches of thick skinned (notably Arneis) grapes. DBG observation of the ferments: the ’21 reds have more colour intensity, & more ‘nerve’ (compared to the complete 2020s) – a typical ‘1’ vintage then! According to Bruna Grimaldi’s Simone Fiorino: the magia/magic of ‘21 is the high levels of tartaric acid in wines, thanks to a snowy winter but dry season, especially in the latter stages, & notable diurnal shift/cool nights in Sept/Oct that allowed the balanced vines to photosynthesize without losing their fresh acids.