Against that backdrop, what can you look for in the 2022s? Analysing the notes in this report, there is undeniable ripeness – fruit-skewed maroon, with red mulberry and raspberry, darker cherries and plums, plus more amaro-medicinal-root tones (liquorice, even wormwood) than green, herbaceous notes. Like 2021 Barolo, these will appeal to those who have not enjoyed the ruby shift in Italian fine wine. Even some wines like Cogno Bordini or Angelo Negro Basarin, which have been standard bearers of that movement, seem an octave lower than usual. Though maturation times in oak seemed to be shorter on average than for 2021 (it’s difficult to say exactly because our data set for last year wasn’t complete) and producers largely favoured botti over barriques and tonneaux, there was less overt reduction, with wines quite open and aromatically generous. Compared to my prior notes on 2021 and 2019, these are less linear and high-toned; meanwhile, they had deeper fruit and better structural balance than 2020, with fewer ‘soft’ examples, perhaps because acidity was so well preserved.

Producers have their own explanations for the final character of the wines. Cogno’s Valter Fissore, who said 2022 was more challenging in Barbaresco than Barolo, noted the year’s defining trait was not its heat (2023 was warmer) but its dryness. Barbaresco’s generally sandier soils were unable to hold onto water, sometimes halting photosynthesis (Cogno Bordini had a comparatively moderate 14% abv, no higher than in other recent vintages). Though not as warm as 2023, 2022 had warmer nights and thus less diurnal variation, which Fissore said explains their relatively lower energy.

Soils and exposures made a real difference. Marco Rocca at La Ca’ Nova said yields were down 30% on his more exposed Montestefano site, where there is slightly less clay in the soils than in Montefico. This produced a more austere profile with more tannin but less weight. Even on Montefico’s more eastern exposures and clay-rich soils, his experiences in 2003 led him to leave all the leaves on the vines, so the resultant wine – like many from Barbaresco’s classic clay-rich crus like Asili and Pajè – are softer and more opulent but also more opaque. Rocca adapted by reducing maceration time (something I suspect was quite widespread, though I don’t have enough data to say definitively) and shortening maturation time in oak to preserve primary freshness.

The extremity of the vintage undoubtedly caused much soul-searching among producers, accelerating plans to plant in sites with potential to avoid or mitigate climate change’s worst excesses. The jammiest wines were typically from lower-lying sites, while those from higher elevations usually maintained their balance. Given Barbaresco commune’s relatively low altitudes – 160-330m asl – and the fact that around 68% of its MGA vineyards are already planted with Nebbiolo (calculated using data from Alessandro Masnaghetti’s invaluable Barbaresco MGA), producers have been looking to Neive and especially Treiso. Altitudes are higher here (180-495m asl) and only 59% of MGA land is being utilised for Barbaresco. Monica Rocca of Albino Rocca said that Treiso and San Rocco Seno d’Elvio (Alba) are attracting the most interest. Their cold air currents help withstand the slow but constant increase in temperature, producing fresher, more elegant styles of Nebbiolo, as Rocca has at Meruzzano, which they have bottled separately since 2012.

Even with this broadening of portfolios, most producers’ ranges remain tight, with three to four MGA wines at most (except the Produttori, whose Riserva range is among the best ways to get familiar with the region’s greatest hits). Though not deliberate per se, but rather a product of being a small region with fewer MGAs and fewer well-capitalised wine businesses, this pattern has arguably resulted in greater focus and more clearly defined producer identities. Though this may come more naturally to boutique producers like Cascina delle Rose and Cascina Luisin with holdings under 10ha, even larger producers like Rizzi have kept their list of cru bottlings concise with a very clear fil rouge. At the same time, the growing MGA ranges at Barolo producers with robust overseas presence and marketing machines – Massolino and, to a far greater extent, the Antinori-owned Prunotto – are helping familiarise the international wine community with cru names that remain less known than their Barolo equivalents, like Secondine and Albesani (incidentally, the home of Sorì San Lorenzo and erstwhile home of Giacosa’s Santo Stefano respectively).

The best wines in this report are a triumph of management over vintage conditions, with an extra layer of fruit keeping tannins lubricated. Though certain clay-rich sites probably made this marginally easier – Gallina from Castello di Neive and Albesani from Massolino were wonderfully pliant – there were just as many wines like Rizzi Nervo, Albino Rocca Montersino and Paitin Sorì Paitin Serraboella that stayed supple despite coming from drier sandstone or sand-rich marls. Often the case in tricky vintages, producer quality was probably a better guide than site.

The 2020s (mainly Riserve from the Produttori) are a succulent, perfumed riposte to those who questioned whether 2020 has staying power; Rizzi Vigna Boito and Produttori del Barbaresco Rabajà are especially delicious. The handful of 2021s, like the pair from Pio Cesare, deliberately released in synch with their Barolo, or the Produttori classic Barbaresco, have benefited from their extra year in bottle, less edgy and now better able to show the class of their vintage. This begs the question whether more producers will consider giving Barbaresco an extra year before release, one of the factors some argue keeps Barbaresco playing second fiddle to Barolo. While it is in some ways a nice idea, commercial realities suggest this is unlikely; however, if it means Barbaresco remains comparatively affordable for the foreseeable future, it’s a trade-off most of us are – I imagine – willing to accept.

Tasting notes and scores from Club Oenologique’s Barbaresco Report 2025 (featuring only those wines scoring 90 points and above) are available to all registered users of The Collection, the online home of our premium wine and spirits content. To register, click here.