Yowzah! 93 Point, Paolo Scavino Langhe Nebbiolo
Posted on: 08/22/18 12:01 PM
Paolo Scavino’s entry-level Langhe Nebbiolo has become Piedmont’s unofficial ambassador, using its striking aromatics and clearly defined character to make the case that you really should be drinking more Nebbiolo these days…especially when it’s from declassified Barolo vineyards. With their 93 point 2016 release – easily considered Enrico Scavino’s best rendition to date – the time for excuses is officially now over. You need to be enjoying this (because you will) and because it is one of the best values in any category we’re going to be offering to you this year.
Buy this overachiever by the case!
2016 Paolo Scavino Langhe Nebbiolo
“Enrico Scavino is very happy with this wine and says its the best vintage he has ever made. I tend to agree. The 2016 Langhe Nebbiolo offers a very encouraging glimpse of the quality fruit to come (2016 Barolo should be fantastic). The grapes were harvested very late and this of course favors increased complexity and elegance. The bouquet is focused and bright with lots of wild berry fruit. Soft tannins appear on the close. This wine could have been sold as Barolo (it represents a selection of fruit from parcels in La Morra), but the family decided to declassify it and sell it at a lower price point instead. They have been farming these vineyards since the 1990s, but damage in the 2002 vintage forced them to reconsider the destination of this fruit, and the Langhe Nebbiolo was born. The vineyards are exposed to the east, and these cooler growing sites tend to make fresh and crisp fruit. The wine sees slightly shorter fermentations (two or three days less) and less time aging in oak. It goes into neutral barrique and tonneaux for ten months.” 93 Points, Wine Advocate
More about the Wine
Established in 1921 in the village of Castiglione Falletto, the Scavino family is uniquely blessed with owning parcels in seven of the eleven “grand” crus in Barolo, an advantage many in Piedmont look on with envy. This sheer diversity of terroir gives Paolo Scavino a unique stage to showcase to the world, year in and year out, wines of extraordinary elegance and transparency. The single vineyard crus, particularly the irresistible Bric del Fiasc are on the top of Piedmont collector’s hit list every year.
Scavino’s “humble” Nebbiolo is sourced from two single cru Barolo vineyards in the village of La Morra: Bricco Manescotto and Annunziata. These crus, that could be used for their Barolo, are instead declassified into an overachieving “simple. Vinification in stainless steel (low temperature fermentation, short maceration) and aging for 10 months in neutral oak. Fresh, sweet, supple, and plenty serious, open a bottle to experience tone of the best “basic estate” Nebbiolos on the market.
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