2020 vintage
Cascina Vernetti
Barolo, Italy · Winemaker: Giulio Vernetti · 24 members
What happened
The vintage, in five moments.
- Pick ran October 18–22 — a classic La Morra window, no drama.
- Fermented in open-top cement, macerated 45 days, pressed on the stems.
- 38 months in 30hL Slavonian botti. No racking until the last month.
- Crew tasted from the botte in year one, year two, and year three. Three different wines, same barrel.
- Bottled January 2024. Released as Barolo DOCG in May 2024.
The final wine
What we bottled.
The 2020 Barolo from Cascina Vernetti is a textbook traditional — rose petal, tar, dried cherry, a tannin structure that will need a decade to open. Giulio will tell you not to drink it before 2028. Half the Crew did anyway. The other half is cellaring. Both are right.
From the Crew
“Giulio's grandfather came to the bottling day. He's 91. He tasted the wine, looked at Giulio, and said nothing for a full minute. I don't think I'll forget that minute.”
“I opened one bottle on the release weekend. It was a closed, furious young wine and I loved every minute of it. Five bottles are in the cellar for my fortieth.”