Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesExtremely aromatic with strawberries, flowers, and stones, following through to a full body with layers of fruit and round tannins that go on and on. Rich and opulent, yet polished and toned. A generous young Barolo. Drink in 2025.
Decadent cherry and currant aromas signal this vibrant, complex red, whose core of ripe fruit defines the palate, with supporting roles from eucalyptus, leather, licorice, tar and mineral. The tannins are dense and alive, while the finish goes on and on. Best from 2026 through 2050.
This is the second vintage of this new single-vineyard expression from Serralunga d'Alba. It is a family project that has been in the works for decades. This 3,500-bottle release of the Azelia 2017 Barolo Cerretta represents a firm and compact wine that sits tight on the palate. The hot vintage has developed a robust structure and power but has also subtracted from the wine's ruby color intensity. Indeed, its light garnet hue is deceptive once you consider the wine's substantial textural fiber and fruit intensity. There is sweet cherry and plum followed by candied orange peel and rusty iron ore. It should be fascinating to see how this wine evolves, as I imagine the tannins will become softer and pliant with time, but the wine's color will surely fade further. This cru is dedicated to the centennial anniversary of the estate.
In 1920 Cavalier Lorenzo Scavino began to vinify part of the grapes produced in the family's vineyards, a small rural reality in the heart of the Langhe region, in Castiglione Falletto.
His son Alfonso started enthusiastically to bottle the wine produced and thanks to Luigi's father, Lorenzo, with perseverance and willpower, the wines were for the first time exported.
The Azienda Agricola Azelia, in the centre of the area of Barolo production, is nowadays composed of 16 hectares and it produces, on average, 80,000 bottles per year. Luigi is supported by his wife Lorella and his son Lorenzo, who bears the name of his grandfather and who represents the fifth generation of wine producers. The family management is essential as it permits an extreme precision in every step of the production.
Great care is given to the work in the vineyards. Wine is made there from old vines which produce very few grapes. The low yields are further reduced through the green harvest, indispensable to select fruits, to have a uniform ripening and an impeccable quality.
It is fundamental a scrupulous attention in the cellar where the respect for the tradition does not exclude the contribution of modern techniques.
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.