Winemaker Notes
This Barolo comes from the best plots of their seven cru. The diversity of soils, exposure and altitude characterizes each of these small but very important terroir. Unifying these diversities, the Barolo offers harmony and complexity with an overall character of the zone.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very pretty, floral Barolo with rose petals, cedar and sandalwood, as well as strawberries and cherries. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, very fine and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Needs three or four years to soften a little. Try after 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing Enrico Scavino's signature at the bottom of the label, this is a classic expression of Barolo. The Paolo Scavino 2016 Barolo offers impeccable balance and an all-pleasing approach. There is something for everyone, especially die-hard Nebbiolo lovers, with energy, power, aromatic finesse and elegant tannins. Fruit for this wine is sourced from a half-dozen vineyard sites from across the appellation, so you get some of the power of Serralunga d'Alba and the precision of Castiglione Falletto. The scope of this wine is wide and broad, offering sweeping panoramic views of this unique grape from Piedmont. This is a terrific value.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fragrant blue flower and perfumed berry aromas mingle with whiffs of dark culinary spice and forest floor. Tightly knit and loaded with finesse, the full-bodied palate features juicy cherry, strawberry compote, star anise and a hint of white pepper alongside taut, polished tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced. Drink 2022–2030.
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Wine Spectator
This shows some heft, the fleshy texture enveloping cherry, raspberry, floral and spice flavors. Menthol and toasty oak notes add interest, while the long finish is defined by vibrant acidity. Fine harmony and expression. Best from 2022 through 2038.
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.