The 1989 Barolo Rocche opens with an incredible bouquet that is reminiscent of a top-flight grand cru Burgundy. The wine shows exceptional elegance in the freshness of its color, the softness of the fruit, and a silkiness in the tannins that is only matched by Mauro Mascarello’s 1989 Barolo Monprivato, not coincidentally also from the village of Castiglione Falletto. I am amazed by the sheer purity and depth of the fruit, a quality of the wine that was extremely forward-looking twenty years ago. This layered, sublime Rocche represents the height of elegance and refinement in Barolo. It remains a spectacular effort from Alfredo Currado. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025. These two Barolos from Vietti were among the very finest I tasted. Proprietor Alfredo Currado was way ahead of the game 20 years ago, as even today his 1989 and 1990 Barolo Rocche possess a level of freshness and purity matched by few wines. At the time, Currado’s son Luca, who makes the wines today, had just joined the winery although he subsequently left in 1990 for a spell in California and then France. Alfredo Currado made these wines with the help of his daughter and agronomist Aldo Vacca, who has gone on to enjoy a brilliant career at Produttori del Barbaresco. The wines were made with lengthy fermentations and aged in cask. In 1990 Vietti produced 6,450 bottles of Barolo Rocche, while in 1989 production was 5,250 bottles. Today, from the same site Vietti makes closer to 4,000 bottles a further testament to the estate’s continued search for excellence.

The 1989 Barolo Rocche opens with an incredible bouquet that is reminiscent of a top-flight grand cru Burgundy. The wine shows exceptional elegance in the freshness of its color, the softness of the fruit, and a silkiness in the tannins that is only matched by Mauro Mascarello’s 1989 Barolo Monprivato, not coincidentally also from the village of Castiglione Falletto. I am amazed by the sheer purity and depth of the fruit, a quality of the wine that was extremely forward-looking twenty years ago. This layered, sublime Rocche represents the height of elegance and refinement in Barolo. It remains a spectacular effort from Alfredo Currado. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025. These two Barolos from Vietti were among the very finest I tasted. Proprietor Alfredo Currado was way ahead of the game 20 years ago, as even today his 1989 and 1990 Barolo Rocche possess a level of freshness and purity matched by few wines. At the time, Currado’s son Luca, who makes the wines today, had just joined the winery although he subsequently left in 1990 for a spell in California and then France. Alfredo Currado made these wines with the help of his daughter and agronomist Aldo Vacca, who has gone on to enjoy a brilliant career at Produttori del Barbaresco. The wines were made with lengthy fermentations and aged in cask. In 1990 Vietti produced 6,450 bottles of Barolo Rocche, while in 1989 production was 5,250 bottles. Today, from the same site Vietti makes closer to 4,000 bottles a further testament to the estate’s continued search for excellence.