There's nothing as gratifying to me as seeing an estate I respect evolve over time. Today, I'm offering some of my favorite Barolos from Paolo Scavino, an estate that I've known and liked for decades, but most important, I'm offering one specific Barolo that I've had the pleasure of seeing from its very inception: Monvigliero.
I remember clearly the moment that Enrico Scavino, son of estate founder Paolo Scavino, told me that he had acquired this plot. We were sitting in a restaurant eating a delicious lunch and drinking Enrico's excellent wine. Enrico was telling me the history of the estate, and with one line, he started telling me about its future. The moment so resonated with me that I wrote about it for my memoir, Passion on the Vine:
He moved closer to me, his voice almost a whisper again. "Did you know I bought another property recently?"
"You did? How much?"
"Four acres."
"That's not too small."
"Do you think I'll have trouble? I can tell that this land is great, really has potential. But can people handle more now?"
"Enrico, you have to keep making the greatest wines you can," I said. "If you do that, you'll never have anything to worry about."
He sighed. "You can't imagine the enormous amount of wine I need to make and sell just to keep up, the land I have to acquire, the tons of new equipment I have to purchase, the methodological changes . . ." He ran his hand over his head. "It's endless."
Risotto Carnaroli ai pistilli di zafferano e carciofi croccanti was set on the table-a bright saffron carnaroli with lightly fried artichokes. We drank two different Barolos, his single vineyards, both from 1999. The first was his Barolo "Cannubi," from the area's most prized vineyard; well-structured, it would be a perfect wine to introduce Italy to a California Cabernet drinker. The second, his Barolo "Bric dël Fiasc," was confident and honest.
"I thank God that I was born in such a wonderful place," Scavino said, as the wine revived the happy side of his brain. "But it's not easy."
"Our expansion really represents the future," Enrica said, moving us into more positive territory, maybe out of habit. "Tell us about the store."
We talked about other things from then on: the business, my goals, Enrica's travels, her sister's backbreaking work in the vineyards, the Piedmont gossip. We ate Chateaubriand di fassone piemontese, a special cut of the fillet-carved from the inner top of the cow, where it rests close to the organs and is softer, less worked-along with lightly roasted carrots and fennel. We had finanziera-a simple stew of innards and vegetables-and Scavino's 1990 "Rocche dell'Annunziata," a potent giant of a wine. Whenever I drank it, I felt as if a pair of hands had reached out from the glass, grabbed my ears, and pulled me closer.
Eventually, the dessert tray emerged: an array of miniature meringue and whipped-cream pastries, dark chocolate truffles, and almond cookies. We finished our wines and stood to leave.
Scavino drove me back to his sprawling hacienda and invited me in once again, but I declined. I had other appointments, other producers to see, and I'd already spent hours with him; I was sure he, too, had lots to do. As I left the drive, I waved at the Scavinos and they waved back, smiling widely.
Monvigliero is a giant of a wine; it envelops you like a sweet, deep-sleep dream. I'm proud to be one of the few US wine merchants to carry the wine, and I'm delighted to bring it to my clients. It's unquestionably the finest expression of that little plot of vineyard that Enrico bought all those years about. He need not have worried.
Enrico passed on the daily running of his winery in the capable hands of his two daughters, who like their father studied at the side of the estate's founder, Paolo. The estate still works hard in the vineyards to keep the grape yield low, meaning that the estate makes very little of its very fine Barolos--for example, the largest production is Barolo Carobric at 1,500 cases and the smallest is Cannubi with only 225 cases; all the rest sit on the lower end of that range. These are delicious, commanding wines made with meticulous care and a lot of devotion. They're wines that make you remember each and every time you drink them.
Share a bottle with someone with a beautiful future--or a rich past. Both are worth celebrating every day.
My Best,
