Winemaker Notes
Ravera is the most famous vineyard in the municipality of Novello. A Barolo with body and majestic depth, with noble, round and gentle tannins. It outlines a wine with fruity and floral aromas reminiscent of rose hips, but also a strong presence of tobacco, vanilla and spices. In the mouth it is perceived soft and enveloping, with excellent drinkability and structure.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A touch minty, with red and black cherry, pomegranate, and lovely floral elements. Crisp, tannins, elegant palate and structure, with a real mid-palate flesh and bounce.
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Wine Enthusiast
Solid and classic, this Barolo gives its all with vibrant aromas of cherry, thyme, dried rose, anise and black tea. The palate is polished with a deep core of red berries that is supported by firm yet balanced tannins and crunchy acidity. Drink 2025–2045.
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James Suckling
Citrus peel, goji berries, cherries, peaches and sandalwood on the nose. It’s polished and pretty, with firm tannins, a full body and delicious peach fruit notes. Tight. Try after 2025.
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.