Burlotto Barolo 2022

Vintage 2022 was one of the earliest and most surprising vintages since once again the vines in the Langhe showed their unrivalled capacity for adaptation. Winter was dry and mild. The growing season began a week early, and spring continued fine but dry. From the outset the over-riding factor was the lack of water reserves in the ground. Higher temperatures late May and June coupled with the continuing lack of rain led to in an early flowering (by 10 days). July was dry and hot, so management of the foliage and canopy was critical. Harvest was completed by early October. The whites showed excellent sugar levels, and a good acid profile. Dolcetto and Barbera grapes were well-balanced, with very interesting prospects, especially the Barbera which retained its freshness. Yet again Nebbiolo demonstrated its unique connection with the area, managing to adapt perfectly to the climatic conditions. The berries were smaller than usual, so the pulp-skin ratio seemed to favour better extraction of the tannins and aromatics. 2022 saw full-bodied wines with excellent long-term ageing potential especially where attention was paid to preserving acids and freshness. 

The 2022 Barolo is stellar. It is certainly the wine of the vintage, taking into account
quality at a price that is likely to remain quite fair. The Burlotto family chose not to
bottle their 2022 single-vineyard Barolos because they thought those wines were
not singular enough to be bottled separately. Instead, all the lots were blended into
a single wine. The 2022 offers up copious dark Nebbiolo fruit along with hints of
leather, spice box, mint, blood orange and white pepper. Time in the glass does
wonders, as the 2022 continues to open with a bit of aeration. It's a gorgeous wine
in every way. Antonio Galloni, Vinous

As producers began tasting through their 2022s, some formed a view that their lots
were more similar than they had hoped and that their single-vineyard wines were
not distinctive enough to be bottled on their own. “We sat down as a family to
taste the wines,” Fabio Alessandria told me at G.B. Burlotto. “The 2022 Barolos
were good, but we just did not see the differences in the sites that we usually do, so
we chose to make a single Barolo.” 93 pts, Antonio Galloni, Drink 2027 – 2042

Fabio Alessandria is among those who decided to forgo his MGA bottlings in favour
of one single Barolo in 2022. Monvigliero, Cannubi and Castelletto are all included
here, along with the rest of Burlotto’s holdings in Verduno. It opens at its own pace,
with gorgeous wafts of wild strawberry, peony and tarragon. The palate is pristine
and buoyant, boasting a weightlessness to the mouthfilling, ripe red fruit, where
grenadine and blood orange suffuse the core. Silky tannins cling decorously, as juicy
as it is textural, while sweet herbs and pepper draw out the finish. Irresistible now.
95 pts, Drink 2026 – 2037, Michaela Morris, Decanter

A complex and classy Barolo with vermouth-like aromas of cinnamon candy,
rhubarb, potpourri, wild strawberries, dried cherries, angelica and liquorice. Fullbodied and warming, it shows freshness with thick, muscular and dusty tannins
and balanced fruit. Drinkable now, but best from 2027.
98 points, Aldo Fiordelli for James Suckling