Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis (chipped wax - 3L) 2001
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2001 Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe is a great choice for readers who can be patient. Freshly cut flowers, mint, spices and violets are some of the many notes that flow from this structured, powerful Barolo. The 2001 remains virile and incredibly youthful in its personality. Sweet balsamic notes develop in the glass, adding considerable depth and nuance. The San Giuseppe is a jewel of a wine with a bright, bright future. Today it is stunningly beautiful. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2031.
The Cavallotto family were one of the first small bottlers in the Barolo zone, starting in 1948. In the last twenty years or so the Barolo appellation has seen a surge in popularity, going from being a niche wine to being one of the world's best-known fine wine areas, and at the same time undergoing a giant zig-zag in winemaking style between the two poles of 'traditional' and 'modern'. The Cavallotto family hasn't changed at all in this time; their wines were made by traditional methods 50 years ago, and they are still. Alfio, his brother Giuseppe, and their sister Laura are maintaining the quality set by their grandfather, father, and uncle, and also maintaining the long-standing practice of natural farming, in which they were a pioneer in their appellation. This is one of the finest estates in the Langa.
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.