2021 Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo, Piedmont

The Cavallotto 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo takes this easy-drinking category of wine to the next level. This is an impeccably balanced wine with intact primary fruit, lots of wild cherry and berry, licorice, rose and elegant earthy or rustic sensations. The tannins are on the dry side. You get enough pleasure to pop the cork tonight with your favorite home-cooked meal.

93 points Monica Larner robertparker.com

Dark and earthy to open, new leather and walnuts, wafts of bergamot, spice and dried flowers. It’s full-bodied, deep in flavour, red and black fruits, kind of rustic, but in a pleasing way, not least in the tea and grainy tannin grip department. There’s a cinch of orange peel bitterness, with a long grated nutmeg and slightly rusty tannin finish. Really opens up after some air. Such character. A very serious Lange Neb!

94 points Gary Walsh thewinefront.com.au

The word benchmark gets bandied around a lot, but this is a Nebbiolo that justifies that term from an already hyped vintage. Perhaps this should be no surprise given the vineyards it is drawn from: Bricco Boschis and Villero. In particular, the lion’s share of the grapes are from the Melera lieu-dit of the Boschis hill, which lies a little west of Vigna San Guiseppe and lower down the hill. Then, Cavallotto farms less than half a hectare of Villero, where the vines sit at the top of the hill above Vietti.

Cropped at yields below 40 hl/ha, the bunches are destemmed, and fermentation is spontaneous. Malolactic fermentation was in cement tanks during the spring following harvest. The wine aged for 18 months in Slavonian oak botti and was bottled unfiltered.

This perfectly portrays the balanced character of this glorious vintage and is an outstanding mini-Barolo. It offers wonderfully red-fruited perfume and layer upon layer of gorgeous, elegantly rendered Nebbiolo fruit. There is structure, as you would expect of a serious Nebbiolo, but the tannins are fine and work to balance the wine’s compact fruit. It closes with lovely energy, purity and mouthwatering salinity. It’s an outstanding, engaging Nebbiolo that offers excellent value for money. As with all this grower’s wines, the longer it spends in the decanter or glass, the more it reveals. A don’t-miss Nebbiolo.

Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo is a textbook example of how serious and site-driven Langhe Nebbiolo can be when crafted by one of Barolo’s great traditionalists. Sourced entirely from younger vines in the Bricco Boschis cru in Castiglione Falletto — the same vineyard that produces their legendary Barolo — this wine offers a glimpse into the elegance and structure of Barolo, but in a more accessible and earlier-drinking form.

The wine is fermented in large Slavonian oak vats with indigenous yeasts and aged in large botti for around a year, giving it subtle polish and allowing the purity of the Nebbiolo fruit to shine without being overworked. Cavallotto treats this wine with the same care and traditional approach as their flagship Baroli.

The nose opens with fragrant notes of rose petal, sour cherry, raspberry, sweet tobacco and dried herbs. On the palate, it’s medium bodied and beautifully balanced, with bright red fruit, lively acidity, fine dusty tannins, and a mineral backbone that reminds you of its noble origin. It finishes long, savoury and clean, with a whisper of wild fennel and crushed stone.

Food pairing: ideal with mushroom risotto, roast pork with herbs, tagliatelle al ragù, grilled duck, or aged cheeses like Taleggio or Pecorino. Also excellent with lentil stew or polenta with braised beef.

Cellar potential: while crafted to be enjoyed young, this Langhe Nebbiolo has the structure to evolve for 5 to 8 years, gaining savoury depth and Barolo-like nuance with time.