Barolo Liste Riserva

General information

• Growing location: Barolo - M.G.A. Liste
• Vineyard position: South / South-East; 290 - 370 m a.s.l.
• Soil: Clayey-calcareous marl with a good share of sand, rich in stones, bordered by a truffle wood
• Training system: Archetto variation of the Guyot system
• Planting density: 4,000 plants/ha
• Harvest date: first half of October 2019

Vintage and vinification

Borgogno's 2019 report calls it a year of traditional pattern with a few surprises. Winter dragged on into February and delayed the spring; heavy rain in early April built an excellent water reserve in the soil, then unstable, cool weather until early summer put vine development about two weeks behind. June turned warmer and, with water in the ground, growth caught up fast. A hot summer peaked in a July heat wave that ended in intense storms, and on 5 September a hailstorm hit the rows without consequences for the estate's vines. The crop was slightly smaller, with good sugar and what the house calls an excellent polyphenolic framework. The Consorzio's harvest report says the same: not an abundant harvest, quality well above average, a traditional vintage.

Liste is the house's most historical vineyard, about 6.75 ha visible from the road that runs from Barolo towards the old Castello della Volta, and the house says the truffle wood embracing it lowers the site's thermal sum by about 2 C against the surrounding area. The Riserva is made only in the best years; the produced vintages the house lists are 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019. After a meticulous selection the grapes are destemmed and crushed, fermented spontaneously in large concrete tanks at 22 - 28 C for about 15 days, then macerated under a submerged cap in concrete for 30 days, during which the malolactic fermentation takes place. The wine is then racked into large Slavonian oak botti for about 2 years and 9 months, passed through concrete, bottled, and given a long rest in the historic cellars beneath the village of Barolo. The house gives no bottle count beyond "a few bottles". The estate has been certified organic from the 2019 harvest, and the back label carries the EU organic leaf (IT-BIO-009).