Barolo Riserva Villero 2009

Vietti's Barolo Riserva Villero 2009 comes from the winery's most precious vineyard: just over one hectare in the municipality of Castiglione Falletto, south/south-west exposure, clay-limestone soil with white and bluish marls.

The vines have an average age of around 40 years, with some specimens planted as early as the 1940s, and a density of about 4,000 plants per hectare. The Villero Riserva is produced only in vintages judged exceptional by Luca Currado: in thirty years of history only 11 vintages have passed the selection, and the 2009 - together with the 2007 - is one of the two to have earned a perfect score from Robert Parker.

The 2009 grapes were harvested on 25 September by hand with careful selection of the bunches. After soft pressing, alcoholic fermentation lasted around 24 days in stainless steel tanks in contact with the skins, with regular pump-overs and use of the traditional submerged-cap method during the pre- and post-fermentation maceration phases.

Malolactic fermentation was carried out in wood, where the wine developed on the fine lees without racking - a technical choice by Luca Currado that enhances complexity and texture while preserving freshness. Ageing continued in large oak casks for around 36 months, followed by a long rest in bottle before release to market. Bottling without filtration.

The 2009 vintage in the Langhe was warm and generous, with a summer that favoured rapid, concentrated ripening of the grapes. The profile of the Villero 2009 reflects this generosity: compared with the colder, more austere vintages, it is softer, more open and accessible in its early stages, while retaining all the structure and complexity that distinguish this exceptional cru.

The early harvest of 25 September - unusual for a Barolo Riserva - is the signature of a vintage whose quality was already at its peak at that moment.

On the nose the Villero Riserva 2009 is a bouquet of explosive intensity: ripe dark fruit - black cherry, plum, blackberry - intertwines with tobacco, white truffle, balsamic herbs, grilled rosemary and oriental spices in an aromatic profile of rare depth. With aeration, dark chocolate, aged leather and ferrous minerality emerge, recalling the cru's unique soil.

On the palate it is full, enveloping and perfectly centred: the tannins are structured but carry a vein of velvety sweetness that makes the wine extraordinarily silky. The acidity is precise and lively, the finish sumptuous and endless - black cherry, balsamic, sweet spices - with a persistence measured in minutes. Already satisfying today for the most impatient palates, the Villero 2009 will continue to evolve and grow for decades.