Everyone Will Want These: “Stellar” 2015 Barolo
Posted on: 09/13/19 3:56 PM
“This is a stellar set of 2015s from Elena Brovia and Alex Sanchez.” Boasts Antonio Galloni on the 2015 Barolo release from Brovia “These are some of the bigger, richer 2015s readers will come across, and yet the wines show impeccable balance.” Of course they do. Balance is what Brovia is all about. There is never excess here, no attempt to showboat or to flaunt an image of power. Balance is number one here.
So, 2015, a vintage of supreme power, balanced in the hands of Brovia? To say this is a significant moment for hard-core Barolo collectors is a vast understatement. “Although 2015 seems to have a broad reputation for power and richness in the marketplace, the vintage’s best Barolo are anything but one-dimensional,” writes Neal Rosenthal. “These 2015s show marked tension, offering an interesting combination of warm-vintage amplitude and cool-vintage poise; they are authoritatively ripe but not juicy, and they display striking finesse.”
For new-comers, Brovia is one of the main pillars of the Rosenthal portfolio. Since its first U.S. release in 1978 the estate has enjoyed high critical praise for their old school, classic approach to winemaking. Here finesse trumps power and natural simplicity in the field and cellar are more important than the seductive promise brought on by modern technology. Everything is done by hand, as it has since its humble beginnings in 1863. Over its one-hundred-and-fifty-year history, each generation of the Brovia family have acquired some of the finest and most noble vineyards in Piedmont. It’s practically a who’s who of famous cru’s: Rocche, Villero and Garblét Sue, all in Castiglione Falletto, as well as Brea in Serralunga.
This stellar 2015 is not only a requisite bottle for collectors, but for new-comers joining in on the party as well. Don’t miss it.
2015 Brovia Barolo
Note from Importer Neal Rosenthal: “Always a stunning value and a perfect encapsulation of the Brovia house style, their Barolo “normale” is comprised 60% of a portion of their holdings in Brea (the oldest and best-exposed vines are bottled separately as “Ca’Mia”—see below) and 40% of the younger vines of their three crus in Castiglione Falletto. One feels both the spicy, boisterous generosity of Serralunga d’Alba and the mineral thrust of Castiglione Falletto in this wine, and the 2015 is a particularly layered, dynamic version, offering excellent concentration but relative accessibility at this early stage.
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