2017 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe, Piedmont

Organic fruit for this wine comes from a small parcel within the hilltop Bricco Boschis cru with 60-year-old vines. The Cavallotto 2017 Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe shows ample texture and softness with layers of dark fruit, plum, dried cherry, baked terracotta and spice. This vintage delivers more accessible fruit overall, and the Cavallotto house style delivers elegance and depth.

96+ points Monica Larner robertparker.com

The dark style of Alfio Cavallotto is, if possible, enhanced here by the natural style of the vintage. This is a cask sample, still in oak and not bottled yet. It has an intense smoky woodland nose, with a lot of mineral earthiness along with liquorice, graphite, tar and earthy dark cherry. Large, powerful and extracted tannins dominate the palate, with crisp, brilliant acidity.

96 points Aldo Fiordelli decanter.com

The Bricco Boschis Cru is one of Castiglione Falletto’s most profound vineyards:
an amphitheatre-shaped site producing this estate’s most emblematic Barolo wines. Facing south/southeast, this sun-drenched hill has long been considered one of Barolo’s blue-ribbon vineyards. The entire planted area covers some 8.8 hectares. Yet, because of variations in soil composition, elevation and aspect, Cavallotto parcellates the site into three subzones: Vigne Colle Sud-Ovest, Punta Marcello and Vigna San Giuseppe. The last of these is also bottled as a single Cru Riserva, which we have here. The densely planted old vines grow at 300-360 metres altitude, and the soils—a patchwork of yellow, white and grey calcareous clays interwoven with sand and sandstone—are as varied as the vineyard’s myriad exposures.
 
Vigna San Giuseppe is a 3.7-hectare parcel on a steep slope behind the cantina. It has long been considered the sweet spot for this vineyard, consistently delivering one of the region’s greatest Barolos. You get the best of everything: altitude (but not too much); excellent drainage (but enough water retention thanks to the clay, so the vines don’t stress in dry conditions); and a complex mixture of soils, including blue-tinted clays (for power), limestone (freshness and mineral drive) and sand (prettiness and perfume). The stars align to produce something magnificent once you add especially small bunches from the 60-year-old vines, unique clonal material and southwest exposure. This 2017 spent 28 days on skins followed by five years in large cask. Made from half a crop this year, it’s a powerful yet seductive Barolo for which greatness is guaranteed.

The 2017 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe is a commanding, deeply traditional Barolo that reflects both the pedigree of this historic cru and the singular voice of one of Piedmont’s most respected estates. Vigna San Giuseppe is the heart and highest point of the Bricco Boschis vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, a monopole owned and farmed by the Cavallotto family since 1928. Only the best fruit from this site is selected for the Riserva, and only in vintages worthy of the designation.

The 2017 vintage was warm and dry, yet Cavallotto’s high-elevation vines, rooted in calcareous marl, retained freshness and balance. The wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts in traditional Slavonian oak vats and then aged for more than five years in large botti, in keeping with the family’s uncompromising traditionalism.

The nose is majestic and layered, with aromas of dried cherry, crushed rose, tobacco leaf, truffle, iron and wild herbs. On the palate, it is full bodied and structured, with firm yet fine tannins, lifted acidity, and flavours of sour cherry, balsamic, dried orange peel, liquorice and earthy spice. The finish is long, powerful and mineral-laced, with classic Castiglione austerity and a slow, graceful unfolding in the glass.

Food pairing: ideal with braised veal, white truffle dishes, aged Parmigiano, game meats or beef slow-cooked in Barolo. Also excellent with mushroom risotto or duck with cherry and rosemary.

Cellar potential: exceptional. This is a wine to lay down for the long term. While it can be approached with extended decanting, optimal drinking will be from 2030 onward, with a cellar life of 30+ years.