Paolo Scavino Barolo Riserva ‘Rocche dell’Annunziata’ 2013

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

I often find myself frustrated tasting through hundreds of wines a week. Too boring, to ripe, to technical, just no fun. Speeding through a trade tasting of wines from around the world, I was about ready to walk out when I spied a few wines that made me pause. Paolo Scarvino’s Baroli. The afternoon turned into an epic success. In front of may lay a cluster of real wines. Cru, single vineyard, Baroli this beautiful are less common than you think! These were wines that inspired, poured by Riccardo who clearly knew what he was talking about, lived it, breathed it. It seems passion runs through the veins of the entire business!

Looking at Scavino’s website I found these words which sum up the Paolo Scavino wines:

“Through over 60 years of experience his focus has been to invest on important cru of Nebbiolo to show the uniqueness of each terroir.

Their work is inspired by the love and respect they have for their territory and they pursue purity of expression, complexity and elegance for their wines from the three local grapes Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo.”

The most important words: respect, purity of expression, complexity, and elegance.

Combine these with a winemaking approach that clearly demonstrates the wisdom that only time and experience can afford a winemaker, and, the results are individual wines of great personality and intrigue. These are the kind of wines that shift you from very good to great.

“He has an open, sunny face and looks at you with confidence because he knows he will never find the words to defend his world but that his wines can defend themselves… He seems an old-fashioned man but he chose to be a winegrower and knows how to observe progress without any conservative reactionary. For each wine produced, depending on the vintage, the right path is chosen without blindly following tradition and without passively following every innovation. He does not love excess” – Luigi Veronelli, I vignaioli storici, volume n.3, testi di Nichi Stefi, Mediolanum Editori Associati, 1988

With a clear transition underway to his daughters Enrica and Elisa it looks like Paolo Scavino will be in good hands for decades to come.

The 2013 Vintage at Paolo Scavino

2013 began with mild temperatures in January. In February and March the temperature reached -10°C and we had pretty heavy snowfalls. April continued with frequent rain showers leading to a delay in the vines growth cycle and in the agronomical works. Towards mid-month the temperatures rose up and the bud-breaking started with a two weeks delay compared to the average of previous years.

We did two new plantings in the Bric Fiasc and in Rocche dell’Annunziata vineyards using material from our Estate massal selection. At the end of April we had rainstorms that continued for most of May.The flowering of the Nebbiolo began in early June and after 10 days even the other grape varieties started. The month of June was mild, with cool mornings and evenings.

The month of July was hot and humid while August was mild again with good temperature excursion between day and night and rainy toward the end of the month. September proceeded rather cloudy and cool days intercalated with sunny days. In the third week of September we harvested the Dolcetto, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Viognier grapes.

We had by several days of mild but persistent rain in early October that brought new energy to the vines and was very positive for Nebbiolo to complete the maturation. The Nebbiolo harvest began October 12th. Beautiful and “perfect” ripeness. The sugars were at a substantial level so the acidity. The skin’s tannins were sweet and the pips crisp and mature. The fermentation continued slowly forging Barolo wines of classical structure and extremely high quality.

Vintage Notes  from Paolo Scavino 

Where in the World is Paolo Scavino

Founded in 1921 in Castiglione Falletto, Paolo Scavino under the guidance of Enrico, and, now his daughters, Enrica and Elisa have amassed a superb collection of Cru vineyards in Barolo, representing 20 of 29 hectares with parcels across each of the communes.

These are some of the best sites across Barolo. Click the map to link to an interactive page on Scavino’s website.