Barolo Riserva Villero 2010

Vietti's Barolo Riserva Villero 2010 is the second of three consecutive exceptional vintages for this legendary label - after the 2009 (100 Parker) and before the 2012 - and bears the mark of one of the greatest vintages of the Barolo appellation in the last thirty years.

For the 2010 Luca Currado chose 32 months of ageing in wood - slightly shorter than other vintages - then left it to time in bottle to complete the evolution of a wine born already complete and structured. The artistic label is the work of Roman artist Giuseppe Stampone, unveiled in 2018.

The grapes from the Villero cru were harvested on 6 October 2010, with a particularly low wine yield of around 35 hectolitres per hectare - significantly below average.

The 2010 in the Langhe was a vintage of great climatic austerity: a late spring, a cool summer with marked temperature swings, a bright but not excessively hot September. These conditions favoured slow ripening of the Nebbiolo, with exceptional accumulation of acidity and polyphenols.

In the cellar: alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks at a controlled temperature between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius, maceration on the skins for 12 days in total, including pre- and post-fermentation cold maceration. Immediately after the end of alcoholic fermentation the wine was transferred to small casks for malolactic fermentation, followed by ageing in 26-hectolitre oak casks.

Bottling without filtration on 25 July 2013.

On the nose the Villero 2010 is still young and in full evolution, luminescent and of great depth: star anise and cardamom open the bouquet with a fresh spicy touch, followed by crisp wild berries, liquorice, black pepper, walnut husk and juniper. A ferrous, mineral note of rust - typical of the cru's white and bluish marl soil - runs through the entire aromatic profile, giving it an unmistakable signature.

On the palate it is a monumental experience: breathtaking concentration, a formidable yet supremely noble tannic structure, incisive, fresh acidity that guarantees decades of evolution. The finish is very long, with returns of dark fruit, spices and minerality that refuse to fade.

According to James Suckling it 'already has breathtaking concentration' and 'decades of life ahead of it'. Ready no earlier than 2028, ideally between 2030 and 2045.