Barolo 2022: Vintage Report

These are wines with juicy tannins and fresh, floral perfumes. Unlike with some other hot vintages in recent memory, in the best of these, there’s no indication of over-ripeness to be found.

The 2022s sit at the top of the earlier-drinking category. To that end, if you have a strong collection of iconic vintages, I’d advise that it would be wise to add some of these new releases to fill in the gaps. That way, you ensure you always have an impressive bottle of Barolo to reach for.

Unlocking the vintage

Producers described 2022 as an exceptional vintage, in the sense that its conditions had never occurred before.

Drought rather than heat proved to be the real test in 2022. Levels of rainfall were at a record low; vines need around 480mm of rain per year to compensate for evaporation during photosynthesis, and in 2022 just 385mm fell.

The keys to working in such a dry vintage proved to be old vines, easterly vineyard expositions, and learned knowledge from erstwhile tricky years.

Old vines with deep root systems were best equipped to survive the drought, allowing growers to mitigate hydric stress. Older vines are a privilege in any vineyard, but in 2022 they were more important than ever. Annalisa Chiappa from Poderi Fogliati noted that despite harvesting in extremely dry conditions, the 90-year-old vines in her Bussia plot were not distressed at all.

Slopes that faced east, or partially east, were able to dodge the warmer afternoon sun. As a result, these wines were naturally imbued with a fresher edge. Giovanni Rosso’s Serra and Ceretta crus are wonderful examples of this. Serra, located on the eastern slope of the spine that runs north-to-south through Serralunga d’Alba, and Ceretta, a south-east facing amphitheatre, both avoided the heat of the late-afternoon sun. Even with the challenges of the year, wines from both vineyards are showing an excellent sense of place.

Overall, those producers who have managed hot vintages across the last 20 years were able to draw on their recent experiences, and work out how to handle the challenges of 2022.

How to approach the wines

Many of the difficulties associated with a hot, dry vintage were not notable in the wines that we tasted. Naturally, we’re lucky to work with a selection of the best producers in the region; I’d suggest that 2022 is a year to follow our guidance when exploring wineries beyond those you already know and love.

The selection we have put forward this year is smaller than usual, and represents the very best of our portfolio. These are expertly handled expressions of Barolo, that combine all the elements we believe were imperative for success.

I don’t believe that the 2022s quite fit the new trend of wines with immediacy that will also keep for decades. These wines’ prime window will be from the starting line, and last across the next 10 years.

A decade is a long time, so these are by no means short-lived, but I would encourage you to enjoy your 2022 Barolos earlier. Be mindful to enjoy their best days by withdrawing them from the cellar in a timely fashion.

These offer a brilliant opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of wines that you may already have other vintages of in your collection, in a delicious way. For newcomers to the region, 2022 is a great vintage to explore traditional Barolo blended across communes, with the wines in this category having never been better.

For collectors that follow specific producers, the 2022s are an exhibition of talent like no other. Mario Fontana of Cascina Fontana is particularly proud of his wines this year, preferring them to vintages like 2021. This year, he says, you can really see who knows what they’re doing. It is true that the most skilled winemakers have made the best wines in our selection, with their individual styles on full display.

A word on Langhe Nebbiolo

This year, we’ve released a selection of Langhe Nebbiolo wines in this offer from the 2024 vintage. This was another challenging year in Barolo, marked by persistent rain and cooler temperatures.

Because the vines struggled, a large amount of premium fruit was declassified from Barolo status – which meant an outstanding year for Langhe Nebbiolo, where most of this fruit was then used. The 2024 Langhe Nebbiolos are refreshing and ethereal, almost Pinot-Noir-like.

These wines will sit perfectly alongside the 2022 Barolo releases as a counterpoint, offering styles from the other end of the spectrum. These are some of my favourite wines of this level that I have ever tasted, and present exceptional value for money.

Our Barolo 2022 offer will go live next week. Stay up to date with the new releases here .