The triumph of the Piedmont’s 2013 harvest was far from assured. Cold rainy weather in the early spring delayed budburst into mid-April, two weeks beyond the average date. If fall rains cut the harvest short, the later start would have spelled disaster. Instead, the fall was warm and dry, leading to exceptional fruit quality.
What is most remarkable is how the late start flowering led to a long, slow ripening season that truly distinguished 2013. The 2010s had no shortage of great vintages– 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2019 all featured the warmth and sun necessary for quality, but the late October harvest of 2013 delivered the structure and intensity of a bygone era. At the time, many growers remarked that the 2013 harvest was more reminiscent of vintages in the 1980s than any recent year.
Today, the wines speak clearly to 2013’s classicism. Dried berries, baking spice, bitter herbs, and rose form arresting bouquets over unwavering frames of fresh acidity and chiseled tannin. They are a delight to drink now but I suspect they will have the longest aging curve of any vintage in their decade.
The complete horizontal lineup from Produttori del Barbaresco is an alluring place to start, with all nine single vineyard Riservas represented on the offer. For the pinnacle of the vintage, don’t miss Bruno Giacosa’s muscular Falletto Vigna le Rocche or Roagna’s superbly elegant Paje Crichet.
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