Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A restrained, dark and complex wine. It unfolds in the glass with notes of bergamot, tamarind, oak bark, licorice, dried violets and red cherries. The attack is supple, with a full body, refreshing acidity and ripe, velvety tannins. It’s vibrant and integrated, with a savory, elegant aftertaste.
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Decanter
The first vineyard the Scavino family purchased outside their village of Castiglione Falletto, Rocche dell'Annunziata has been produced as a Riserva since 1990 – however only in superior vintages. The 2019 is simply gorgeous, ringing out with winter mint, dried lavender and cinnamon. Distinct and precise, the perfumed palate follows with a sweetness of strawberry gracefully enfolded in silky tannins. Tangy minerals and citrussy acidity amplify lightness and brightness. Don't be fooled though – this has plenty of substance and structure to sustain it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Paolo Scavino 2019 Barolo Riserva Rocche dell'Annunziata comes from a special line that is only made in the best years. We saw a Riserva in 2016, and I'm told it will be made in 2021 (but we won't see that bottle until 2028 or 2029). This wine, however, shows beautifully today with elegant fruit, dark shadings of spice and young and chalky tannins. The wine is classic from all points of view, and you get a generous portion of that celebrated Nebbiolo elegance.
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Wine Spectator
An intense version, boasting cherry, black currant, plum, earth and iron aromas and flavors, with underlying accents of eucalyptus and rosemary. Firm and balanced, showing some development. Vibrant acidity corrals the lingering finish, and this remains complex and enticing. Approachable now, this red will benefit from another year or two of aging.
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Vinous
The 2019 Barolo Riserva Rocche is a wine of pure and total sensuality, as the best vintages are here. Ripe, silky tannins frame a core of red-toned Rocche fruit. Floral and citrus inflections emerge later to round things out. The Riserva is one of the most elegant, sublime and beautiful wines in this year's range. I loved it.
Rating: 96+
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.