Acid Anyone ?

I am struck reading the critics reviews of the 2017 vintage in Barolo how few of these actually say anything at all about the level of sensation of acid in these wines. There is a lot of commentary about tannin but hardly a word about whether the wine has enough acid to give it lift and freshness and a prospective long life. Considering this was a growing season when sugar and phenolic ripeness did not arrive at the same time you would think reporting on acid level would be of interest to the reader.

The Burgundians perhaps are more focused on acid than the Piedmontese.  It would be rare I suppose for Nebbiolo not to give adequate acid - and it is fair to say that the shape and character of the tannins in Barolo are a big part of what defines quality of the wine, whereas with Pinot Noir adequate acid levels should not be presumed.  And the list of Burgundian winemakers who assert that acid really is the key component in the wine that they are trying to retain is long. Acid levels also get attention because of the amount of white wine made in Burgundy, for which acid is evidently a primary component of balance in the wine. These considerations mean that the focus on acid is very much part of the make-up of Burgundian sensibility in a way that perhaps it is not in Piedmont. One might - at the risk of oversimplifying - say that the big variable in assessing quality in Barolo is the quality of the tannin and in Burgundy it is the quality of the acid.

But nevertheless, dear critics, in these present times of exceptional warmth and dryness, could we please hear at least something about acid in Barolo…..