2019 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo, Piedmont

The Cavallotto 2019 Barolo Riserva Vignolo (a certified organic wine) shows an earthy and savory side with the extra texture and concentration that is characteristic of this warm vintage. With fruit selected from a 1.96-hectare site with 40-year-old vines, the wine reveals a core of black and purple fruits, with dried plum and blackcurrant. It closes with powdery tannins. This Riserva ages for a long 60 months in 20-hectoliter and 50-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks. Production is limited to 6,566 bottles.

96 points Monica Larner robertparker.com

Intense, rich ruby colour with a fine garnet rim. Very appealing nose, showing notes of clove, then candied rose petals, raspberry, with fine savouriness in the background. Juicy and full-bodied in the mouth, it shows extremely good tension and has fine-meshed tannins with firm drive.

98 points falstaff.com

The best Cavallotto Vignolo Riserva I've had to date, the 2019 is staggeringly stunning, starting with its heady aromas of pine forest, cedar, ripe red berry and spice. All about finesse and showing elegant restraint, the full-bodied, delicious palate delivers succulent Morello cherry, truffle, orange zest and pomegranate accented by white pepper and star anise. Tight, taut but fine-grained tannins provide great support while bright acidity keeps it balanced and fueled with vibrancy. What an absolutely gorgeous wine.

100 points Kerin O'Keefe kerinokeefe.com 

From the historic Vignolo cru in Castiglione Falletto, this Barolo Riserva is one of Piedmont’s great traditional expressions, built on patience, structure and uncompromising terroir. Cavallotto farms organically and works entirely within the estate, treating Vignolo as a site of depth and gravitas. The vineyard’s limestone rich soils and ideal exposure produce Nebbiolo with formidable tannin and aromatic complexity, and the Riserva is only made in vintages capable of long evolution. The style is resolutely classical, shaped by time rather than modern polish.

Winemaking follows a slow, traditional path with extended maceration and long ageing in large cask. The goal is not early accessibility, but refinement through patience. Years in bottle allow the wine to knit together, revealing layers rather than announcing them.

Bright garnet in colour with brick tinges, the aromas unfold gradually, revealing rose petal, sour cherry and red plum layered with tar, dried herbs, tobacco and earthy spice. There is a haunting floral lift that signals mature Nebbiolo pedigree. The palate is full bodied and architectural, with concentrated red fruit wrapped in firm, chalky tannins. A vibrant acid spine drives flavours of cherry, cranberry and savoury mineral notes into a long, dry finish that seems to echo endlessly.

It pairs beautifully with braised meats, truffle dishes, game and aged cheeses. While already complex, it will continue to evolve for decades, gaining leather, forest floor and balsamic nuance.

This is Barolo in its most traditional voice, austere, perfumed and built for the long arc of time.