Winemaker Notes
Aroma and finesse with power and body at the same time. Sweet nose, with hints of cherry, black currant and licorice. Fruity tannins. A union of characters Aged for two years in large casks.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Focused and accessible, featuring earth, tar, tobacco, iron and underbrush aromas that introduce flavors of cherry and plum. Ripe and balanced, with a long, fresh and firm finish. Best from 2025.
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James Suckling
Deep, spicy red-fruit character on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied and firm, so give it a couple of years to open up. There’s a lot under the surface.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Luigi Scavino's classic Barolo shows a sweet spot on the bouquet with baked cherry and sweet plum. The Azelia 2018 Barolo does not show the depth or complexity of past vintages; however, the wine offers lots of basic Nebbiolo crispness and plenty of wild berry flavors. There are earthy notes on the close with some light spice.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.