Winemaker Notes
The grapes are selected from the single vineyard Rocche in Castiglione Falletto, planted with roughly 4600 units per hectare. The vines were planted in threedifferent moments, 1940, 1950 and 1968. The vineyard has a south-east exposure and a clay-limestone soil. Grapes are gently crushed and fermented for approximately 4 weeks in stainless steel tanks with skin contact. This includes pre- and post- fermentative maceration with the traditional method ofsubmerged cap. Malolactic is done in oak.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Vietti 2016 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is a complete wine, offering exact measures of purity, intensity, freshness and structure. This is the 360-degree Barolo from Vietti, with fruit sourced closest to home in Castiglione Falletto. Rocche di Castiglione sees more shade hours, and that becomes an important factor in the hottest vintages and the longest growing seasons. It creates diurnal shifts that positively impact the purity and brilliant focus of the fruit. Of all the comuni of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto produced exceptional results across the board in this classic vintage. Dark fruit, pressed lilac, blood orange, powdered licorice, balsam herb, spice, iron ore and aniseed fit together perfectly like pieces in a puzzle. Once completed, that puzzle offers a dazzling panoramic portrait of this special Barolo territory.
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Wine & Spirits
Alfredo Currado made Vietti’s first-ever single-cru Barolo in 1961 from Rocche di Castiglione, a long tongue of vines that extends from the edge of Castiglione Falletto toward the border of Monforte d’Alba on a southeast-facing slope. Currado’s son and Vietti’s current winemaker, Luca, calls Rocche “stronger than the stupid,” meaning it is hard to make a bad wine from the cru. That was never a possibility in 2016, a growing season that Luca considers the best in his 33 harvests, with everything happening just as it should: rain at opportune moments, no significant hail, and a beautiful September with hot days and cold nights. The wine’s red-cherry flavors are vibrant and juicy, opening to notes of orange peel and fresh tobacco. Its tannins are formidable yet cool, adding to its sense of freshness, and the precise red-berry flavors continue to gain energy and vibrancy even five days after the bottle was opened. A portrait in balance and equilibrium, this 2016 is a monumental achievement.
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Decanter
Rocche di Castiglione is prized for its pure white, limestone rich soil which gives wines of extraordinary finesse and fragrance. It is epitomised here in Vietti's graceful and refined 2016. It's evocatively scented with wild forest berries, savoury spice and heady, almost truffle-like nuances. The buoyant, vigorous palate is mineral-driven and generous in red currant and raspberry flavours on a silky texture of fine tannins. As immediately captivating as this is, it has the bones for a solid couple of decades.
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Wine Spectator
The purity of the fruit is the highlight of this complex and compelling red, with cherry, raspberry and floral aromas and flavors permeating from start to finish, plus notes of iron, tobacco and eucalyptus. The firm structure melds nicely as the finish lingers. Best from 2023 through 2045.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
