Diary of 2020 Langhe e Roero: the stay-at-home, tend your vines, & make a super wine (CV) vintage!

• 8 January 2024 /

Indeed, ‘thanks’ to CV everyone was at home, no flights flew, no cars were on the road, I walked everyday from my Verduno hideaway to Barolo & back, the air was clean, everything felt purified! In fact the 2020 (Nebbiolo) wines – following in the ‘0’ tradition of being round! – have been irresistible from birth, juicy, relaxed, & complete, as if they too needed a (CV) break from the annual grind. Sure, they’re not as vertical nor as sinewy as the ‘19s (that follow the ‘9’ mould), but they have a completeness, & certainly more focus, structure & natural balance than the ‘18s; producers of Barolo may have opted for rimontaggio/pumping over in 2019 (on account of the tannin quality) whereas in 2020 many more will have gone for capello sommerso/submerged cap, rounding off the wine.

After a mild winter, March ‘20 brought a new lockdown in Italia, while May ushered in 10 days of cool rain showers, continuing the trend of ’18 & ’19 (while in ’21, no May rain!), June also was showery, with hail in Verduno on 15^th June – a vertical punch that hit the vyds heading towards La Morra (Riva Bianca, Boscatto, Rocche dell’Olmo) – with peronospera/downey mildew raising its head in Barolo. Week of 20 June saw temps peak at 35 degrees, followed by a re-assuringly warm July at 30 degrees, punctured by the occasional storm; Aug 3^rd storm toppled a great Lime tree in Barolo; more hot weather wc 10 Aug, with some 30 degree spikes through wks Aug 17 & 24^th.

Then all change wc 31 Aug, as a cool front descended upon N.Italy. Notable change in September, as the Langhe received c.65% less water than in 2019 while enjoying similar, cooler temps! On 24th September I bumped into super-agronomist & geologist Edmondo Bonelli: “2020 is not unlike 2018 but fresher, more acidity. The regular rainfalls are similar to that of an irrigation system (i.e. just enough/in regular doses!). pHs should be up like 2018 too, so good mouthfeel/softer tannins. Good site will be important, favouring the more free draining soils, i.e. older/Elveziano; while the younger/Tortoniano communes already have good water retention.” Warmer mid-September but much cooler days & crisper nights from wc 21 Sept, perfect for Nebbiolo. Rainstorm on 25 Sept wreaked havoc in S. France (the Var), but caused no damage in the Langhe, bar il vento. Most of Barbaresco & Barolo harvested started wc 28^th Sept, finishing wc 5^th Oct, while some like Roagna at Pira will wait until wc 12^th Oct So a week earlier than in 2019. But good quantity & quality; fruit tannins seem very ripe & resolved. And finally, & importantly, winter ’20/’21 spettacolare: cooler October, then snow on 23 Nov, then again on 10 Dec lasting through to 20 Gennaio, with sub-zero temps slowing the thaw!