Vietti - Barolo Lazzarito 2019 (750ml)

Vinous 97 points

"The 2019 Barolo Lazzarito continues a trend seen in recent years in which the focus has been more about finesse than raw power. Intense red fruit, iron, dried herbs, chalk, dried rose petal and white pepper all run through this deep, virile Barolo. The power and intensity of Serralunga really come alive on the heady, explosive finish. Bright saline notes linger on the deep, resonant finish. A Barolo of raw, unbridled power, the Lazzarito demands patience."

Jeb Dunnuck 
(Vietti Barolo Lazzarito) "Another pale ruby Barolo, the 2019 Barolo Lazzarito is from a 2.5-hectare parcel of the cru and reveals a hint of purple flowers, with a mix of red and blue fruit berries. It has more expansiveness on the palate, with more broadness, although it is not weighted. It offers a light balsamic tone, with rosemary and fresh herbs, and is persistent on the long finish. This will benefit from more time in bottle and drink 2026-2046.Vietti was founded by Carlo Vietti in the late 1800s and is based in Castiglione Falletto. After marrying Luciana Vietti in the late 1950s, Alfredo Currado joined the operations of the winery and later was largely regarded as responsible for the resurrection of the Arneis grape. Until this year, the estate had been helmed by fifth generation winemaker Luca Currado Vietti and his wife Elena, who have been the longtime champions of their family’s winery. In 2016, the estate was purchased by Krause Holdings, which had enabled Luca and Elena to continue their roles while simultaneously supporting significant growth, gaining sought-after site acquisitions for production such as Monvigliero in Barolo. Though the winery is in solid control in terms of the winemaking, the recent departure of Luca and Elena is certain to leave a spiritual hole impossible to fill any time soon." (Drink between 2026-2046)  96 points

"Vietti’s 2019s are off the charts. I can’t say I am totally surprised, as I have been following the wines for several years. At the same time, it is one thing to taste wines from barrel and another entirely to see the finished, bottled wines in front of you. I tasted each wine from two bottles, one opened two hours before my arrival and another opened when I arrived. This year, I preferred the opened bottles for most wines. From the first wine to the last, the 2019s possess tremendous depth and purity, along with the deep inflections of site that are what Barolo is all about. Readers who can find these wines should not hesitate, as they are truly magnificent. “Harvest ran from October 8 to 16, which is pretty typical for us,” Luca Currado explained at Vietti. “It was a nerve-wracking vintage, the kind of vintage that gives you a lot of grey hairs. We made a lot of decisions on pure instinct. Our longest macerations were on the Brunate (30 days) and Lazzarito (27 days). Still, we shortened macerations by about a week on the Brunate, Rocche and Villero because we did not want to extract any bitterness in the tannins.” All the wines saw submerged cap maceration except the Monvigliero, where one of the two parcels did see submerged cap maceration while the other did not. Malolactic fermentation was done in cask, except for the Rocche, where the logistics of juggling casks of different sizes resulted in some of the wine doing the malolactic in neutral French oak." AG

Vinous 97 points

"The 2019 Barolo Lazzarito continues a trend seen in recent years in which the focus has been more about finesse than raw power. Intense red fruit, iron, dried herbs, chalk, dried rose petal and white pepper all run through this deep, virile Barolo. The power and intensity of Serralunga really come alive on the heady, explosive finish. Bright saline notes linger on the deep, resonant finish. A Barolo of raw, unbridled power, the Lazzarito demands patience."