Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Woodland berry, fragrant blue flower, tilled earth and balsamic whiffs of camphor slowly take shape in the glass. Boasting elegance and intense energy, the radiant palate delivers crushed red raspberry, sour cherry, star anise and crushed aromatic herb alongside a backbone of firm refined tannins and vibrant acidity. It’s still young, so give it time to fully come together and develop even more complexity. Drink 2024–2034.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
This is very chewy and powerful for a 2014 with a linear and long tannin structure that runs right down the center of the wine. Medium- to full-bodied, long and rich. A top 2014 Barolo. Try in 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Scavino family rents half a hectare of Cannubi and has been doing so since 1985. Vines at the site were planted in 1946, and although some have been replanted, about 80% of those old vines are intact. The site boasts well-draining soils that add to the aromatic identity and intensity of the wines. Fruit in Cannubi tends to ripen a bit earlier than the other grand cru sites in Barolo. This specific half-hectare sees harder marl soils compared to the loose sandy soils that distinguish the rest of Cannubi. Yields are extremely low due to the low vigor on old vines and the Nebbiolo clone (Michet) planted here. The 2014 Barolo Cannubi is a beautifully bright and clean wine with elegant tones of wild fruit, rose and anise. This wine exhibits soft and silky tannins over a compact mouthfeel.
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Wine Spectator
The core flavors of cherry, plum and licorice are accented by banana, coconut, sun-kissed hay and mineral in this alluring and exotic red. Still bit compact, but delivers balance and a long finish. Just needs some time to relax. Best from 2022 through 2038.
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Wine & Spirits
This wine’s intense concentration is a product of low-yielding vines planted in 1946. Its ripe red cherry flavors mingle with notes of dried fruit, taut tannins holding them firm. Oak-influenced notes of smoke, espresso and sweet spice predominate for now, suggesting this needs time in the cellar for the flavors to integrate.
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.