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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James Suckling
The sour cherries really lift this off on the nose, catching suggestions of candied citrus, tile, roasted herbs and cedar. Racy and sexy, drawn out into shape by the forthright acidity and steely tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Scavino family has had access to fruit from the Monvigliero cru for almost 20 years. They have farmed a small parcel (under one hectare) since 2000, and the grapes were previously added to their “classico” Barolo blend. In 2006, Monvigliero became its own single-vineyard expression because Enrico Scavino always had a big passion for this site. The 2015 Barolo Monvigliero is a bright and beautiful wine with a strong floral signature of violets and roses that accompanies this wine from start to finish. The wine is very characteristic of Monvigliero in terms of the softness and silky nature of the tannins as well.
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Wine Spectator
A supple, perfumed red, with a smoky Lapsang souchong tea note underlying the cherry and currant flavors. Delicate and firm, showing fine balance and a vibrant finish. This is all about elegance and finesse. Best from 2021 through 2042.
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Wine Enthusiast
Subtle aromas of roasted coffee bean, black spice, blue flower and a whiff of camphor shape the nose. The linear palate is youthfully austere, evoking sour cherry, orange rind, sage and espresso set against assertive, fine-grained tannins that leave a firm, drying close.
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Wine & Spirits
Enrico Scavino began vinifying this wine as a single cru in 2007. This bottling, from the warm 2015 vintage, shows the vineyard’s characteristic flavors of red cherry and peppery spice, yet the fruit tones feel warm and a bit candied, with some amaro notes adding to the weighty impression.
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.