Paolo Scavino Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva Barolo Nebbiolo 2016

Jay Kline

The Scavino family’s holdings in the Rocche dell’Annuziata MGA have always been quite special and at Paolo Scavino, it’s bottled as a Riserva. This 2016 was popped and poured and enjoyed over a several hour period. It pours a deep ruby with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of dark cherry, red roses, some tar, dried herbs, gentle warm spices and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. There’s wonderful concentration and the finish is grippy, long and delicious. As far as Riserva’s go, this is a winner. And, because this is a 2016, you can drink now (with some patience) if you wanna enjoy in its relative youth but this will undoubtedly last for decades. Over the last 70+ years, Enrico Scavino was a force behind the family’s expansion in the Barolo region. And while he was never been shy about innovation (Enrico was one of the “Barolo Boys” after all), he was a bit more judicious with his use of new French oak; careful to ensure each vineyard’s story was being told. Increasingly, there has been an even greater lean towards a more traditional touch with less time spent in barrique (very little of it new) and more time spent in botti. And while the quality has never really been an argument, the results are evident in the glass and I’ve been impressed with the wine of the last several years. But I digress, the real news is that Enrico passed away in late February which means Piemonte has lost yet another legend.

Michael Walker

A Super Bowl Barolo at the Aidone’s….and a pretty good one, obviously could use a few more years but nice austere fruit