2020 Barolo, Rocche dell'Annunziata, Renato Corino

The 2020 Barolo vintage is likely to be overlooked. Not only is it sandwiched between the 2019 and 2021 vintages, both of which are more uniform in terms of success, but the wines are being released onto a market at low ebb.
 
Some will quickly assume that 2019 or 2021 are superior vintages to 2020, but, as ever, gross generalisations never show the full picture. As I commented in a previous offer, the best 2020s show a rare harmony, something that was evident even when I tasted them at a very early stage. In fact, I am not sure that I have tasted a recent Barolo vintage that seemed so together at such a point. There will be enjoyment to be had in the 2020s with comparatively little cellarage in some instances.
 
Some estates produced exceptional wines in 2020. The style that was shaped by the specific vintage conditions suited one grower/ winemaker more than the next. I thought Renato Corino’s Rocche dell’ Annunziata was very fine in the 2019 vintage, but, if anything, I found the 2020 more compelling and perhaps a touch easier to taste in its youth. Renato’s wines are incredibly consistent and, as I have commented before, his style lends itself to the riper fruit that results from warmer vintages in Piemonte. Miss his 2020 and you are missing out.

I have known Renato for well over a decade and visits to his estate are comfortably some of the most enjoyable that I make on account of his openness and humour. To me, his Barolo typify the qualities I associate specifically with La Morra: a certain silkiness on the palate and a softness of texture that combine to create a sense of accessibility not common to many Barolo districts, while possessing a generous ripeness of fruit. His Rocche dell’Annunziata, offered here at £240 per 6 bottle case in bond, is the leading wine in his range. This site ranks as one of the greatest vineyards not just of La Morra but of the whole of Barolo. It would be considered equivalent to a Grand Cru and possesses a long history, dating back beyond 1194, when it was the property of the Benedictine Abbey of San Martino in the village of La Morra. The many growers who own a small part of this 30-hectare vineyard go some way to justify its importance; it is no coincidence that the estates of Bartolo Mascarello, Paolo Scavino, Roberto Voerzio, Mauro Veglio and Lorenzo Accomasso, amongst others, all have holdings here. Rocche dell’Annunziata lies at 300 metres above sea level and the soil comprises calcareous clay, almost chalky white on the higher parts of the slope, with a high proportion of silt, a composition that is said to lead to the striking perfume and silky textural character common to the wines of this cru.

These character traits come through in abundance in this less overtly structured and pleasingly forward vintage of this consistently appealing and exemplary Barolo from Renato Corino, as can be seen in the note of Antonio Galloni below, as well as in my own.