Barbaresco 2013: A retrospective of one of the top vintages in the last decade

Barbaresco 2013
Michaela Morris conducts the blind-tasting at Barbaresco’s town hall.

The fate of a wine writer is tasting dozens of wines soon upon – or even prior to – release in order to assess a vintage and predict ageability. Far less often are we privileged to sweeping overviews once the wines are sold and tucked away in cellars.


Scroll down to see the top wines from the Barbaresco 2013 retrospective tasting


While I have been visiting Barbaresco regularly since 2004, the first anteprima, or press preview, I attended was in May 2016, when over 100 Barbaresco from the 2013 vintage were presented. Contrary to the latest releases from 2020, which are already accessible, 2013 was patently austere. Even at subsequent estate visits, the 2013s contradicted conventional drinking guidance that Barbaresco should be approachable by the age of five.

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