Arnaldo Rivera Barolo Ravera 2017
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James
Suckling -
Wilfred
Wong -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Wine made from grapes grown on 6 different vineyards within the cru, facing due south at an average elevation of 400 m/1378 ft.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fascinating aromas of pure fruit, such as strawberries and plums, with some ash and smoke. Full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins that are polished and fine. Nice, long and soft at the end. Better after 2023.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Arnaldo Rivera Barolo Ravera is stylish, majestic, and pleasing. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of fresh red fruits, a hint of minerality, and delicate earth. Enjoy this with a slow-braised beef dish. (Tasted: November 21, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With fruit from the village of Novello, the Arnaldo Rivera 2017 Barolo Ravera shows some of the extra plumpness and ripeness of the vintage with dark cherry confit and plum pudding. There are dark mineral and licorice tones, and the wine also displays some red cedar or smoked oak. Those darker or more saturated tones appear more evident in this vintage, and the tannins do show some dryness.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of violet, truffle and tobacco emerge from the glass. The savory palate offers dried black cherry, clove and tobacco alongside tightly knit, polished tannins. Drink 2023–2029.
Other Vintages
2018-
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James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
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Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Arnaldo Rivera wines are the result of a partnership between Terre del Barolo winery and a number of its growers with the aim of producing the region’s best grapes and wines. The vineyards of origin are among the most prestigious on the Langhe hills. They are ultimate expression of expertise and craftsmanship, where the purity of the single varietal is at the absolute pinnacle, testifying to the unmistakable identity of Piedmont’s wines. This label is a unique, new journey through the eleven villages and native varietals in the Barolo winegrowing area, from the vineyard management, to the vinification techniques and woods used; it is truly the wines and the land they come from that speak for themselves.
Arnaldo Rivera was born on December 13th, 1919 in Castiglione Falletto, a small village at the heart of the historic Barolo winegrowing area. He was a local primary school teacher, mayor of his village for 36 years, and founder in 1958 of the Terre del Barolo winery. He lived through the hard times of the war in the front line, as well as the days of the liberation. He and his wife Ester Rinaldi were not blessed with children. Arnaldo Rivera passed away on January 10th, 1987. This project was created by the growers and the winery in honor of this great man.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
The center of the production of the world’s most exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo, the Barolo wine region includes five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Its wines, with the signature “tar and roses” aromas, have a deceptively light garnet color but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. In a well-made Barolo wine, one can expect to find complexity and good evolution with notes of, for example, strawberry, cherry, plum, leather, truffle, anise, fresh and dried herbs, tobacco and violets.
There are two predominant soil types here, which distinguish Barolo from the lesser surrounding areas. Compact and fertile Tortonian sandy marls define the vineyards farthest west and at higher elevations. Typically the Barolo wines coming from this side, from La Morra and Barolo, can be approachable relatively early on in their evolution and represent the “feminine” side of Barolo, often closer in style to Barbaresco with elegant perfume and fresh fruit.
On the eastern side of the Barolo wine region, Helvetian soils of compressed sandstone and chalks are less fertile, producing wines with intense body, power and structured tannins. This more “masculine” style comes from Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba. The township of Castiglione Falletto covers a spine with both soil types.
The best Barolo wines need 10-15 years before they are ready to drink, and can further age for several decades.