Vietti's 2018 and 2019 Releases

Luca Curado at Vietti continues to produce delightful Piedmontese wines, whatever the variety, color, vintage or quality level. 

White
90
Vietti 2019 Roero Arneis 13.5% $24
Pale as lemon pulp, this pure, nuanced white wine is fresh and more textured than unusual for Roero Arneis. Smelling of wet stones and citrus peels, the nose is delicate. The palate tacks on aromas of boxwood and white peach pulp with subtle notes of nectarine and even persimmon. Under all of that aromatic laciness, there is a touch of more robust fruit that seems to stem from the riper, 13.5% abv. The palate's texture feels layered and ample, but the bursting acidity keeps it feeling squarely medium-bodied. The lingering, minerally, peach-scented finish is delightful. This delivers far more than its price tag, and with such a robust finish, I suspect this will be intriguing for years to come. 
Drink: 2021-24 

88
Vietti 2019 Moscato d’Asti 5% $16
Delicately fizzy, this vintage’s Moscato d’Asti is lighter and wispier than usual. Its white blossom, verbena, cherimoya and mineral aromas are shy, and the same goes for its flavors on the palate. There is a whisper of fennel bulb and celery alongside peaches. Given this delicate frame, it is surprising how effortlessly the pure flavors linger on the finish, which is lightly lifted by deft acidity.
Drink: 2021-22 

Reds
91*
Vietti 2018 Barbera Tre Vigne 14.5% $18 
Showing pomegranate arils, succulent cherries, heather, bramble and lilac, this Barbera is lusty and full-throttled in generous fruit. Smooth on the entry, the medium-bodied palate swiftly gets whacked with tangy acidity that descends steadily into a minerally, dusty finish. This is a surprisingly fruit-forward wine for the generally cooler commune of Asti. This is a stunning wine offered for a very modest price-to-quality ratio.
Drink: 2021-24 

91
Vietti 2018 Nebbiolo Langhe Perbacco 14% $28
Wildly floral, almost as if it had Freisa in it! Though unusual, this bottling is utterly delightful. The fruit is willfully youthful and tantalizingly robust for a going-on-three-year-old Nebbiolo. The palate is flamboyant in its dazzling array of complexity that is unusual for a “mere” Nebbiolo. Rose petals, mulberries, sand and saw dust...it seems that as long as I keep some wine in the glass and keep going back that another layer unfolds and invites me back. Pleasantly vinous with tender tannins and lifting acidity that do their jobs in a subtle manner, this is highly drinkable.
Drink: 2021-2024