Winemaker Notes
From a 0.7 hectare parcel in one of La Morra’s smallest grand crus, Conca is a small, south-facing amphitheater with calcareous clay soils that produces wines of unusual power for La Morra, more in line with their neighbors in Serralunga. Revello’s Conca is a deep, rich red with accents of cherries on the nose, followed by lush, dark cherry and other frutti di bosco in the mouth. The finish is uncommonly long, and though the wine is approachable now, it will benefit from cellaring for many years.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Ripe-strawberry aromas with some tobacco and mushrooms follow through to a medium to full body with chewy tannins and a juicy finish. Tannic, yet polished and intense. Give it three or four years to soften.
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Wine Spectator
Cherry, berry, floral and grassy flavors mark this fluid, vibrant red, which is juicy and harmonious, making it approachable now and surprisingly open and integrated for the vintage, with fine length. Still, this has serious tannins.
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.