Vietti's Villero Riserva only happens in vintages that earn it, ten times in the last 31 years, and 2016 clearly made the cut, with more than five years in the cellar before anyone was allowed near it. Michet Nebbiolo on clay and white-and-blue marlstone gives you that Piedmont paradox: pale in the glass, structurally relentless underneath, tannin and acid holding the mid-palate taut. This is Barolo playing the long game, and patience is the whole point.
Winemaker Notes
Vietti’s Villero Barolo Riserva is an outstanding wine made only in the best vintages—just ten times in the last 31 years. The grapes come from the Villero vineyard and the wine gets the extra aging required for Riserva status, remaining in the cellars for more than 5 years before release. For each vintage, the winery selects a special work of art for the label. The 2016 vintage features the work of Richard Mosse, an Irish artist born in 1980. He is an artist who draws attention to overlooked yet urgent stories, working with the aesthetic power of his medium to create highly immersive and groundbreaking new forms in photography and moving images.
Professional Ratings
98
Robert Parker / Wine AdvocateI spent a good amount of time huddled over this fantastic bottle over the course of a few days. This is another masterpiece in a long line of masterpieces from the Villero site in Castiglione Falletto that is definitely a personal MGA favorite. The Vietti 2016 Barolo Riserva Villero can be summed up in a single word: seamless. You immediately recognize the strong personalized style of the wine despite the Vietti ownership changes, although in truth this vintage was still under the guide of Luca and Elena Penna-Currado because the estate was sold in July 2016 and they stayed on to make wines for a few more years to follow. The smoothness of the wine represents a continuum across various chapters of dark fruit, roasted chestnut, iron ore, blood orange, aniseed and white truffle. It does not have the weightlessness of some of today's top Barolo; in fact, quite the opposite: this is a wine of depth, full-bodied texture and smooth transitions. Production is exactly 5,146 bottles, 330 magnums and 15 double magnums.
98
Wine SpectatorComplex aromas and flavors of cherry, raspberry, rose, wild herbs, stony mineral and autumn woods are the hallmarks of this elegant red, which is beginning to reveal all of its facets yet is still structured. Leaves a chalky feel of refined tannins on the long finish. Best from 2026 through 2045.
96
VinousThe 2016 Barolo Riserva Villero is an elegant, polished Barolo. It offers up a beguiling mix of orange peel, cinnamon, dried flowers, cedar, leather and sweet pipe tobacco, all framed by a discreet touch of oak. Time in bottle has softened the tannins a touch. This is beautifully done.
95
Wine EnthusiastThis wild and untamed Barolo demands attention as tart red currants and fresh green herbs dominate the nose, while sour cherries and unripe raspberries hint at its untamed nature. On the palate, tart cranberries, wild strawberries and holly bush transport you to a wild forest, with fine, well-integrated tannins providing seamless structure. Drink 2025-2045
About the Producer
Located in the heart of the Langhe hills, at the top of the village of Castiglione Falletto, the Vietti wine cellar was founded in the late 1800's by Carlo Vietti. The estate has gradually grown over time, and today the vineyard holdings include some of the most highly prized terroirs within the Barolo and Barbaresco winegrowing areas. Although they had been making wine for four generations, the turning point came at the end of the 1950's when Luciana Vietti married winemaker and art connoisseur Alfredo Currado, whose intuitions - from the production of one of the first Barolo crus (1961 - Roc…
