VITE TALIN Barolo 2018
Character.
Here in Langhe, the grapes are outshining their territory. The fruits, just like the plants on which they grow, distinguish themselves among the varieties of the region. The plant’s irregular, sharply indented leaves are particularly rough and thick, and both the clusters and the single grapes are smaller and overall more contained, very pruinose and intensely coloured.
With the vintage of 2018, Vite Talin, the fruit of Luciano’s research begun in 1987, and today one of the declinations of Nebbiolo according to the Sandrone family, once more confirmed its extraordinary character.
The growing season.
The beginning of 2018 was marked by abundant snowfall in winter and generous rain in spring, which helped the soil regenerate itself. The wet weather persisting well into the month of April called for special attention on the part of the viticulturist. Spring, not too far from the average but especially bountiful, turned out to share one of Vite Talin’s defining features: the capacity of self-regulation.
Man’s role was to follow the plants throughout their development, accompanying them through the various vegetative phases, offering a helping hand to Mother Nature where necessary. Interventions were needed mostly in the summer, when occasional downpours complicated the situation, rendering the year rather wet as a whole. It was the green part of the plants that needed the most attention, especially during the ripening stage.
The development of the fruit was slow and steady throughout the summer, which, from the second week of July onwards, distinguished itself through very warm weather, fundamental to the ripening of the grapes.
Overall, 2018 was a year during which the intervention of man revealed itself successful in enhancing Vite Talin’s natural ability to adapt to external conditions.
Ratings for the vintage 2018
Doctor Wine 98 punti
Kerin O'Keefe 95 points
James Suckling 94 points
Vinous 96 points
Wine Advocate 96 points
Wine Enthusiast 95 points
Wine Spectator 95 points
Across time.
The typical characteristics of Vite Talin, observed in the first bottlings of 2013, affirm themselves once again. We are talking about the wine’s intense colour with garnet reflections.
Behind its soft spicy notes and aromas of liquorice, the nose of the wine reveals a mix of floral and fruity fragrances, with Linden flowers and fresh small fruit like raspberries and blackcurrant, a harbinger of the vivacity and pleasant acidity that defines the palate. Displaying all the classical traits of Vite Talin, the wine invites those who taste it today to imagine its future.
This vintage is full-bodied, and the tannin, well polymerized at this stage, has almost reached its perfect ripeness, giving shape to its poignant matrix. In the mouth, the width and generosity of the vintage shine through with dark, spicy fruit, framed by red flowers and fresh, tonic acidity.
Vite Talin 2018: the Nebbiolo that resists.
It is a long period of ageing that will eventually tame Vite Talin, good to drink now but destined to reach its greatest moment over the course of the next few years. Bold, tense and voluminous – yet harmonious, with a finale that explodes from the centre of the palate, this is a mature and generous wine, destined to evolve.
Harvest: October 18th
Vineyards in the commune of Barolo: Le Coste, Drucà and Rivassi
Alcohol content: 14,5%
Recommended drinking time: 2026 – 2051