Vite Colte is a Piedmontese producer working across the Langhe, and this is its Barolo from the 2018 vintage. Nebbiolo at full ripeness, from the hills south of Alba where the grape has been grown for centuries.
- Nebbiolo, the only grape allowed in Barolo.
- Barolo DOCG, Piedmont, northern Italy.
- 2018, a warm year in the Langhe.
- 14.5% abv, dry, full bodied.
- High tannin, high acidity.
How it is made
Barolo DOCG carries rules that go back to the appellation's founding in the 1980s: Nebbiolo only, grown inside a defined set of hills, aged a minimum of 38 months before release, of which at least 18 must be in wood. The grape itself is thin-skinned and late to ripen, which is why it holds so much tannin and so much acidity in the same bottle.
How it tastes
Rose petal and tar sit at the front, the two aromas that have followed Nebbiolo for as long as anyone has written about it. Red cherry and dried herbs come through underneath, with black pepper, cardamom and clove from the existing notes. The tannins are firm and the acidity is high, so the wine reads as much on structure as on fruit.
Good to know
Barolo takes its name from a village in the Langhe, and the zone covers eleven comuni in total. The wines were once made sweet, until a dry style took hold in the mid-1800s, and the region has been building its reputation on that style ever since.
