Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Barolo Carobric is a real stunner. I had been less convinced by recent past vintages of Carobric, but to my great surprise and delight, I found this vintage—a difficult one at that—to show classic, well-balanced lines. Fruit is sourced from three crus, Rocche di Castiglione, Cannubi and Bric dël Fiasc, with Rocche di Castiglione representing the biggest part of the blend. This wine takes us to the very heart and soul of the Barolo appellation. It represents seamless unity between three extraordinary vineyards: the Rocche di Castiglione fruit evidently gives the wine structure and depth, Cannubi and its sandy soils adds the floral and fruit fragrances and the fruit from Fiasco lends color and density. Carobric gives it all.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine & Spirits
A blend of fruit from three of Scavino’s top crus—mainly Rocche di Castiglione, with Cannubi and Fiasco—this is complex and layered, with flavors of dark plum and cherry opening into notes of dried porcini, black olive, licorice and chocolate. And yet the wine isn’t heavy, the vibrant acidity adding brightness and energy.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of fragrant purple flower, wild berry and a whiff of exotic spice lead the nose. On the taut structured palate, tight fine-grained tannins offset cherry, pomegranate, star anise and a hint of espresso while bright acidity lends energy and balance. It’s still youthfully austere and needs a few years to unwind. Drink after 2023.
-
James Suckling
Licorice and asphalt aromas with ripe fruit and walnut undertones. Full body, round and chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. A little fluid in the center palate. Drink or hold.
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.