ANALYSIS OF THE 2008 HARVEST IN THE LANGA AREA ACCORDING TO THE BAROLO AND BARBARESCO CONSORTIUM: “A YEAR THAT STARTED ON THE UPSWING, AND THEN CONCLUDED EXCELLENTLY”

In the Langa and Roero areas of northern Italy, 2008 will be remembered as “a year that started on the upswing, and then concluded excellently” according to the Barolo and Barbaresco Consortium now that the grape harvest has been concluded.
The completely dry autumn with balanced temperatures relieved worries that were provoked by the abundant rains in the spring. The grapes that have been harvested are healthy, beautiful, with a high sugar level, only in a few cases unbalanced acid levels, and polyphenols ready: all of the characteristics for an excellent wine. And 2008 continues the series of warm winters that are favorable for wines that are to be aged. Barolo and its “cousins” are doing well, along with the white wine Roero Arneis. Dolcetto is stable, but had not actually succumbed to the strong declining speculations of last year.
The slight quantitative fall in production this year (on average between 5-10%), together with the start of the consortium certification and the ministerial labels that must also be on DOC wines, will probably create an increase in prices.
Massimo Martinelli, historic figure at the Renato Ratti Winery, emphasized that, “in the summer there was a great recovery, but above all, September turned out to be an important month for the harvest; the cold nights favored the development and ripening of the Nebbiolo grape and I think that all of the wines produced with this grape, both Barolo and Barbaresco, Nebbiolo d’Alba and Roero, will obtain excellent results; as well, the slightly lower than normal yield can also be seen as a positive factor, considering the economic contingency and the state of the market”.

According to the Consortium President, Claudio Rosso, “the producers are working hard at their wineries, but they know well that the impact of the new EU policies and their novelties must still be verified. There is delusion about the conditions that continue to be different between the French “cousins” on enrichment, uncertainty about the will to maintain the denomination of origin as the central part of the policy of quality, scepticism about the use of funds for promotion. It is the moment to verify the necessity of a new normative picture even at a national and regional level where the consortiums for tutelage and protection can aspire to see themselves recognized for this important role that had been imagined when they were created. There has been discussion these days of national strategic sectors to defend, but I must also note that quality agriculture and fine wines merit being considered as a sector that is not secondary, capable of maintaining the connection between the territory and international prestige”.

Another member of the Consortium, Beppe Accomo, producer at the Bricco Maiolica winery, expressed his satisfaction, “notwithstanding the fact that it is still early to make qualitative forecasts, I still expect a very fine and elegant vintage, with wines that are long-lived and persistent in taste, similar to those of ’96 and ’98, and maybe even at the level of 2004, another year in which we began and ended a late harvest. In particular, I am very happy about the Dolcetto. This was a delicate year because of the weather in the spring and early summer. During this intensely rainy period, the Dolcetto grape, which is one of our autochthonous grapes and is precocious, was already ahead in ripening, therefore it risked suffering more in respect to other varietals.
Nevertheless, those who care about these grapes worked hard in July and August and were now able to harvest decidedly mature and sweet grapes”.