Winemaker Notes
Great finesse and aromatic complexity, distinctly floral spicy, savory, balsamic in its expression. The nose is vivid and compound. The texture is focused. An extremely elegant cru, feminine and full of character.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Floral and fragrant, this boasts enticing scents of blue flower, wild berry, dark spice and crushed herb. The polished vibrant palate delivers red cherry compote, cranberry, star anise and a hint of orange zest offset by elegant fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it balanced, while an almost salty mineral note lingers on the close. Drink 2021–2028. Editors' Choice
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James Suckling
Very fresh and linear with a fine and polished tannin structure. Medium- to full-bodied, crisp and bright. A delicious finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Barolo Monvigliero is closed and timid compared to the other wines in this portfolio of new releases from the Scavino family. This growing site is characterized by sharp diurnal shifts between day and nighttime temperatures. It has calcareous soils that are light in color. The vineyard is less than one hectare in size and was planted in 1968, with a newer part planted in 2005. The family started to vinify it as a cru expression starting with the 2007 vintage. Because Monvigliero is a cool growing site in the warmest years, the fruit feels even fresher and thinner in this cool vintage. Although the wine was in a closed or reduced state when I tasted it, you can still identify aromas of dark fruit, iron and crushed mineral. There are also some green notes of dried mint or oregano. This is the least expressive wine of the lot.
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Wine & Spirits
Fruit from this south-facing slope in Verduno attained admirable ripeness for this rainy vintage, offering dense flavors of red cherry and plum. Notes of anise and pepper mingled with sweet cedar and dark chocolate suggest the wine will benefit from a few years in the cellar.
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.