Vietti Barolo Castiglione

Vietti Barolo Castiglione – the “entry” Barolo from Vietti. But, I am not sure calling it an “entry” Barolo really does it justice, as it’s a very high level Barolo, so I’ll refer to it as their “classic” Barolo instead. And what do I mean by “classic”? In the Barolo lineup, the Vietti Barolo Castiglione is the only blend Barolo, made with wines from different plots in the Barolo area. The rest are single vineyard Barolo’s, including Brunate, Monvigliero, Lazzarito, and Ravera.

When deciding which grapes to blend in the Barolo Castiglione, they always start with Ravera and add in the others. The blend can differ every year, but usually includes some grapes from Castiglione, Monforte, Barolo and La Morra. Vietti has many different vineyards to choose from, including: Bricco Boschis, Scarrone, Villero, Codana, Parussi, Brunella, Bussia, Le Coste, Le Liste, Ginestra, Mosconi, Boiolo, Rocchettevino, Fossati and Camilla.

Winemaking

They select the grapes from many different vineyards from different villages in the Barolo area, always starting with Ravera. The different single vineyards are vinified and aged separately, and then blended right before bottling. This allows them to highlight the typical characteristics of each terroir, resulting in the best wine possible. The wine ages for about 30 months in oak barrels of different sizes, before it’s blended and then bottled.

Vietti Barolo Castiglione Tasting Notes

I recently tasted the 2017 and 2018 Vietti Barolo Castiglione side by side, allowing me to really see some of the differences between the two vintages. As most of us know, in 2017 is was very dry and quite hot, as opposed to 2018 which was quite rainy. But, we, myself included, must be careful not to judge a vintage before we have had the chance to taste some of the wines. More often than not I am pleasantly surprised by the wines. Even in what could be classified as a “difficult” vintage. I think Fabio Alessandria said it so well:

Because we pay a lot of attention in the vineyard and in the cellar, I think that it’s difficult to have a bad vintage

Fabio Alessandria

In the Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2017, I found some warm notes, of darker and a bit riper fruits, but the wine is still fresh and fruity. I also found some spice notes. The tannins are quite round, and warm, if that makes sense. I would definitely call this a balanced wine, with a good finish. The 2018 is a bit more elegant. Fruity with beautiful floral notes. A fairly structured wine with good depth.