2017 Paolo Scavino, Barolo DOCG, Bricco Ambrogio, Piemonte, Italy.
Again, a big thank you to my friend and Barolo enthusiast Alex Lallos of No Limits Fine Wines for digging into his personal cellar to find this gorgeous and opulent 2017 Bricco Ambrogio Barolo from Paolo Scavino, which was a wonderful and exciting treat at dinner recently. This ripe and quite lush Nebbiolo delivers everything you’d want and expect on the full bodied palate and is showing just the right amount of evolution and secondary character with crushed raspberries, damson plum, balsamic dipped strawberry, hoisin sauce, fig and dried currant, along with meaty sous boss, floral incense, sultry earth, lavender and tarry black licorice. This wine is made from Nebbiolo planted on classic Barolo terroir with marl and limestone soils in the Bricco Ambrogio cru, which the winery says is the most important vineyard in the village of Roddi and set up at 275 meters of elevation above sea level with good south/southeast exposures.The first vintage Scavino produced was back in 2002 and was nearly a monopole for the family, making it a very unique bottling in their prime time lineup of cru Barolo offerings. These days, as mentioned in prior reviews, Scavino vinifies in stainless steel tanks using native yeasts, all with temperature control and cool with about 12 days of maceration and a 25 day or so primary ferment before a 10 month spell in mostly neutral French oak, then rested another 12 months in large Slavonian casks before returning to stainless for another 10 months prior to bottling. Over the course of the evening I was able to watch and taste the development here with this sleek and savvy Bricco Ambrogio, a wine I had not had too many times, and for me it performed really well in the glass and was good with the evenings pairings, both the small pre-dinner bites, including cured meats and cheese and the main course of meaty pasta. This is the third of the Scavino 2017s that I’ve enjoyed in the wild recently and they are impressive for maybe what can be called a bit of an off vintage, making want to keep my eyes out for some 2010, 2013 and 2016 versions.
The famous Paolo Scavino Barolo house, now run by Enrico, the late Paolo’s son, as well as his two daughters Enrica and Elisa, who have stepped up to become the new face of this legendary producer that was founded back in 1921. Ever the perfectionist, Enrico continues to experiment with small lots and single parcel fermentation of his Nebbiolo to make the best wines possible from his great vineyard holdings in the Castiglione zone, where they have their famous Cru on Fiasco Hill, the renown Bric del Fiasc. Scavino also has prime spots in Cannubi, Rocche Annunziata, Bricco Ambrogio and most recently a piece of Verduno’s Cru Monviglero, see here, all which provide great material for their lineup. The winery is one of the most modern, humble, as my friend Alex Lallos discovered on his visit there recently, and clear in the region, though they use some small French barriques they have re-focused their winemaking to use less new oak and craft a more traditional Barolo. The collection here at Paulo Scavino has lots of individual effects that transparently show off some very distinctive terroir qualities, with this one being quite unique, when compared to their signature bottlings from Bric del Fiasc, Cannubi, this Bricco Ambrogio and Rocche Annunziata, one of my favorites. I also recommend the Carobric Barolo, that comes from three of Scavino’s best terroirs, it’s mainly sourced from Rocche di Castiglione vineyard, in Falletto, as well as having smaller percentages of Cannubi and the Fiasco vineyard, all which highlight the house style and make for a elegant version of Barolo, but with classic form and balance. The results are remarkably consistent and Scavino is always one of the elite wines of the vintage, they are wonderfully refined, but with a real sense of power and structure, even in warm vintages, like this 2017 Bricco Ambrogio, as well as their other cru Barolo show. Scavino again is always a treat in the glass and this rusty/ruby red Barolo is drinking pretty delightfully right now, though best to decant and have with a hearty meal, which we did with this 2017 Bricco Ambrogio.
($80-100 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive