Piedmont Vintage

Question 1

Piedmont

Excellent Vintages: 1960s

Answer 1

1961 (A+)
1962 (A)
1964 (A)
1967 (A-)

Question 2

Piedmont

Excellent Vintages: 1970s

Answer 2

1970 (A-)
1971 (A+)
1974 (A-)
1978 (A-)

Question 3

Piedmont

Disaster Vintages: 1980s

Answer 3

1980/81, ‘83/84, ‘87

Question 4

Piedmont

Excellent Vintages: 1980s

Answer 4

1982 (A)
1985 (A-)
1989/90 (A)

Question 5

Piedmont

Disaster Vintages: 1990s

Answer 5

1991/92, ‘94

Question 6

Piedmont

Excellent Vintages: 1990s

Answer 6

1990 (A)

1998/99 (A)

Question 7

Piedmont

Disaster Vintages: 2000s

Answer 7

2002 was the only difficult vintage in the 2000s

Question 8

Piedmont

Excellent Vintages: 2000 - Present

Answer 8

• 2000/01, ‘04, ‘06/07/08

* ‘10, ‘13, ‘15/16

Question 9

1980 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 9

Disaster Vintage

•Rain diluted the crop

Question 10

1981 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 10

Disaster Vintage

•Snow was on the ground the final week all the grapes were harvested

Question 11

1982 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 11

Excellent vintage - with balance and finesse

Question 12

1983 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 12

Disaster Vintage - Rainy Harvest

•Produced lightweight, early-maturing wines

Question 13

1984 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 13

Disaster Vintage - Rainy Harvest

Question 14

1985 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 14

Excellent Vintage - akin to 1978

•Rich, ripe and concentrated, yet elegant

Question 15

1986 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 15

Varying Quality Vintage
•Barolo - Legendary hailstorm in May
•Barbaresco - Rot issues

Question 16

1987 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 16

Disaster Vintage - Rainy harvest

Question 17

1988 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 17

Good Vintage

•Over-hyped after the disaster of ‘87, but paled in comparison to 1989 and 1990

Question 18

1989 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 18

Excellent Vintage
•Ripe, opulent in supple
•Not as good (or as firm) as the 1990s

Question 19

1990 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 19

Legendary Vintage
•A rare vintage with high standards across the board
•Firmer (and more long-lived) than the 1989 counterparts

Question 20

1991 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 20

Disaster Vintage - Rainy, cold harvest

Question 21

1992 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 21

Disaster Vintage - Rany, cold harvest

Question 22

1993 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 22

Average Vintage

•Growers attempted to hype the vintage after the disasters of ‘92/93

Question 23

1994 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 23

Poor Vintage - prolonged rainfall

Question 24

1995 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 24

Good Vintage - a notch below ‘89/90

•Small crop due to hail

Question 25

Name 4 "Super Vino da Tavola" wines from Piedmont.

Answer 25

* La Spinetta 'Pin' Nebbiolo/Barbera * Conterno-Fantino 'Monpra' Nebbiolo/Barbera/Cab Sauv * Altare 'Vigna Larigi' Barbera * Gaja 'Darmagi' Cab Sauv

Question 26

1996 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 26

Excellent Vintage - Deeply colored wines | •Many challenges throughout the growing season, the quality was very surprising

Question 27

1997 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 27

Good Vintage - Overhyped •Hot growing season resulted in record ripeness levels, but low acidities •Many were unprepared to ferment with such high sugar levels, resulting in stuck fermentations, high VA. *Wine writers called it the vintage of the century

Question 28

1998 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 28

Excellent Vintage | •Balanced, structured, elegant wines

Question 29

1999 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 29

Excellent Vintage - Classically styled | •More tannins than 1998

Question 30

2000 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 30

Excellent Vintage | •Structured like 1999, but more rich, forward fruit

Question 31

2001 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 31

Excellent Vintage | •Very similar to the opulence of fruit from 2000, but slightly lower acidity

Question 32

2002 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 32

Poor Vintage - rain, hail, and cool temperatures

Question 33

2003 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 33

Poor Vintage - Heatwave | •Old-vine Barolo made exceptional wines

Question 34

2004 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 34

Excellent Vintage - Harmonious wines, close to 1964

Question 35

2005 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 35

Good Vintage | •Balanced, elegant wines with ripe tannins

Question 36

2006 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 36

Excellent Vintage - Classically styled wines •Similar to 1999, but a bit more density and richness *Bruno Giacosa decided not to bottle his 2006 Barolos or Barbarescos due to personal reasons, not the vintage

Question 37

2007 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 37

Excellent Vintage - Aromatic wines with ripe, velvety tannins •Hail and arid conditions resulted in low-yields, but good quality fruit

Question 38

2008 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 38

Excellent Vintage - Classically styled wines, still a bit austere •Similar to 2010

Question 39

2009 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 39

Good Vintage - Wines and fruit profiles similar to 2003 (stewed and dried) •Hot and dry growing season, lack of rain caused water stress and vines shut down •Quality is irregular

Question 40

2010 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 40

Excellent Vintage - Classically styled wines, still a bit austere •Similar to 2008

Question 41

2011 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 41

Good Vintage - Good, supple, ripe but not stewed wines--some with high alcohols

Question 42

2012 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 42

Good Quality - The best wines are light with an acidic nerve, balance and freshness •Hail destroyed many vineyards in Novello •Unusually hot summer

Question 43

2013 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 43

Excellent Vintage ?? - early prognosis indicates the quality is similar to 2010s

Question 44

2014 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 44

Poor Vintage - Cool, wet July with violent hailstorms in the Barolo commune

Question 45

2015 Piedmont Vintage

Answer 45

Excellent Vintage - Great promise, even with some relatively low acidity levels •Hottest July ever on record