Vietti - Barbera d'Alba Scarrone 2021 (750ml)
Vinous: 94 Points
The 2021 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Scarrone is dense plush and explosive. A rush of dark red cherry/plum fruit mocha licorice spice rose petal and a kick of French oak all build in the glass. Potent and quite deep the Scarrone is another lights-out Barbera from Vietti. In recent years the Scarrone has come along very well. Then again these vines were planted in 1989 so they are no longer ?young' just younger than the Vigna Vecchia where the oldest vines date to 1918. - By Antonio Galloni on November 2023 I tasted a wide range of wines on my m
Vinous Media: 94 Points
The 2021 Barbera d'Alba Vigna Scarrone is dense, plush and explosive. A rush of dark red cherry/plum fruit, mocha, licorice, spice, rose petal and a kick of French oak all build in the glass. Potent and quite deep, the Scarrone is another lights-out Barbera from Vietti. In recent years, the Scarrone has come along very well. Then again, these vines were planted in 1989, so they are no longer ‘young', just younger than the Vigna Vecchia, where the oldest vines date to 1918.
- By Antonio Galloni on November 2023
I tasted a wide range of wines on my most recent visit to Vietti. Starting with the 2020 Barolos, I tasted every wine from a just-opened bottle and a bottle that had been double-decanted two hours prior to my arrival. Aeration can be a tricky thing with young, just-bottled wines. Sometimes, air can help young wines open but also shut them down hard. In 2020, the double-decanted bottles showed better. Overall, there is a bit more variation from wine to wine than I am used to seeing, while some of the Barolos are on the lighter side.
In 2020, virtually all the fruit for the single-vineyard Barolos was picked in late September, before the early October rains. Harvest resumed on October 5 with the second portion of Lazzarito and various parcels used in the Barolo Castiglione. The 2020s spent about 24 days on the skins, with submerged cap maceration for most lots. Time in cask was 24-26 months.
Readers will note several new wines in the range. Vietti’s 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is stellar. The same is true, incidentally, of the 2020 Barbaresco Roncaglie. I have long admired the Barbarescos here. That is once again the case this year. The 2016 Barolo Riserva is the next incarnation of the 2015 Barolo Riserva that was released last year, but it was made from different vineyards and vinified with a high percentage of whole clusters. I would be remiss if I did not spend some time on the entry-level offerings. The 2021 Barberas are fabulous. These are wines I bought often as a young consumer and continue to enjoy as often as possible. Ripeness and oak impact have been dialed back, which really allows the purity of the fruit to come through.
vmWine Spectator: 90 Points
Spicy offering black cherry violet cumin and cardamom flavors and a hint of toasty oak. Fresh and harmonious with a lingering finish. Drink now through 2027. 353 cases made 70 cases imported.
