Barolo numerology: Could 2016 be the vintage that breaks the cycle of less-than-extraordinary vintages that end in “6”?

It’s been a great summer in Barolo this year, not too hot and with beautiful clear, cool nights — diurnal temperature shifts ideal for the ripening of the grapes.

All things considered, as long as there is no major weather event before harvest, this could be a great vintage.

But looking over the last century, vintages that end in “6” have rarely if ever achieved true greatness. Only 1996 is considered to be an “extraordinary” vintage from the 20th century (among those ending in “6”). And while 2006 was one of the more memorable harvests of the decade, Tenuta Carretta CEO Giovanni Minetti — one of the world’s foremost experts on Barolo — calls it “excellent” but not “exceptional” or “extraordinary” (his two highest ratings).

Here’s Giovanni’s rankings of all the vintages that end in “6” since the first decade of the 20th century.

Only time will tell!

Barolo vintages that end in “6”

1906 – good (ranking: 3/6)
1916 – unremarkable (ranking: 2/6)
1926 – unremarkable (ranking: 2/6)
1936 – unremarkable (ranking: 2/6)
1946 – poor (ranking: 1/6)
1956 – unremarkable (ranking: 2/6)
1966 – poor (ranking: 1/6)
1976 – unremarkable (ranking: 2/6)
1986 – good (ranking: 3/6)
1996 – extraordinary (ranking: 6/6)
2006 – excellent (ranking: 4/6)
2016 ?

Scale:

1 – poor
2 – unremarkable
3 – good
4 – excellent
5 – exceptional
6 – extraordinary