Producer: Vietti
Region: Barolo, Piedmont, Italy
Varietal: Nebbiolo
Year: 2012

Wine Advocate, 97 Points

"This is the 13th edition that Vietti has come out with, over the span of 38 years, of this stunning Riserva, a wine that ultimately is produced only about once every four years or so. It was not made after the previous harvest, in 2011. The recent editions have been nothing short of spectacular, earning 100-point scores in both 2007 and 2009 and 99 points in its latest appearance, 2010. It's a series that has set the bar extraordinarily high, and this 2012 Barolo Riserva Villero is a little less exciting in comparison. However, the wine holds its own as one of the most beautiful in the entire appellation and one of the best in the somewhat lackluster vintage. Balsamic and truffle notes pepper the palate of this handsome Barolo, but it's just really hard to reproduce that magic, release after release, for a wine regularly expected to sell at several hundred dollars apiece. Some 3,300 bottles of this vintage were made."

Vineyard: Located nearby the village of Castiglione Falletto, the Villero vineyard faces South/South-west with Vietti owning a little less than one hectare. The grapevines are 43 years of age on average and are planted at a density of 4,000 per hectare. The 2012 vintage was harvested on October 2nd, and it yielded about 52 hectoliters of wine per hectare.

Soil: Moderately clay and compact, with evident white and blue marlstone.

Winemaking: After the alcoholic fermentation and maceration in steel tanks lasting 21 days at a temperature of between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius, the wine was then transferred immediately into small barrels for the malolactic fermentation and then into a large oak cask for further aging. It was bottled, without filtration, on July 16th, 2015.

*Discounts do not apply to items like this one in the Fine & Rare category. Price and availability in store may vary.