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Paolo Scavino

Following the death of their father, Alfonso and Paolo Scavino divided their father’s vineyard holdings in the commune of Castiglione Falletto. Paolo chose an eponymous title for his estate, which included a 2-hectare plot in Falletto’s Fiasco cru known as Bric dël Fiasc, situated in Castiglione Falletto. While established in 1921, the site was first represented via a single-vineyard bottling in 1978, a production Paolo undertook at the behest of his son, Enrico. The Scavino estate’s premiere cru production and most renowned bottling, Bric dël Fiasc is now one of four cru wines in the portfolio (Cannubi, Rocche dell’Annunziata Riserva, and Bricco Ambrogio are the other single-vineyard Barolos).

Enrico assumed direction of the estate upon his father’s passing, having cultivated an intimate knowledge of Paolo’s craft and viticultural philosophy. Enrico, however, unlike many other second-generation winemakers in Piemonte, did not wholly adhere to the established protocol. After a period of time, he began implementing a quality-driven course of modernization, becoming among the first in the region to institute temperature-controlled winemaking and storage facilities. He instituted the most demonstrative shift in 1993, when he removed Slavonian oak from his Barolo aging regimen—which, until that time, had been the sole medium of aging—becoming a pioneer in the use of 100 percent barrique and rotary fermentation. While this radical stylistic shift effectively served to brand Enrico as a modernist, it never really established itself as the reigning house style, constituting more of an experimental phase than a period in the estate’s evolution.

In 1998, just a few years into the new regime, Scavino brought the Slavonian oak back, abandoning the sole barrique protocol for a more balanced approach—one year of aging in barrique, followed by one year in cask. He didn’t merely reinstate it, however, having come to believe that the wine that is Barolo requires both barrique and cask. He also extended the maceration period for his Barolos by two to three days. In effect, this transitional stage in Scavino’s production philosophy reduced the vigilant attention that had previously been accorded the cellar. With the cellar no longer serving as the pivotal focus of the process, heightened attention was directed towards the vineyard, resulting in Scavino’s practice of extreme yield restriction. While this modified take on modernism has been in effect for a significant period, the estate may continue to reach back further yet. For her initial solo venture—a 2006 single-vineyard Barolo (representing Via Nuova Vineyard), Paolo’s daughter Elisa opted for manual pumping over and punchdowns rather than rotary fermentation, despite the fact that her father privileges this method’s user-friendly properties and ability to extract a more substantive degree of polyphenolic material than the older approach. She also referenced the more recent past in her use of 100 percent new Taransaud oak.
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Paolo Scavino Barolo Bricco Ambrogio 2004, 1500ml Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric 2004, 1500ml
Our Price: $209.58
Our Price: $249.50
Paolo Scavino Barolo Bricco Ambrogio 2004 Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric 2004
You'll be able to taste what Scavino so enraptured with the '04 release. If you crave an accessible Barolo, this is your wine: you'll get the impression that Scavino and Bricco Ambrogio want you to recognize now, rather than later, just what a special thing they've got going here; A well balanced Barolo courtesy of the aging methods - one year of aging in barrique, followed by one year in cask. Aromas and a palate of sweet dark fruits, as well as tar, truffle and mushroom. Carobric, which debuted in the 1996 vintage, is a multi-vineyard production that represents a selection of grapes from each of Scavinos esteemed crus Rocche di Castiglione, Cannubi, and Bric dl Fiasc. In its early period, it is generally somewhat reticent on the nose, yet more demonstrative on the palate. In 04, it takes the most classic line of the Scavino Barolos, serving as the foil of Bricco Ambrogio and projecting a rare sense of proportion and perhaps celebrating the estates recovery of tradition.
Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc 2004, 1500ml
Our Price: $299.23
Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc 2004
While established in 1921, the site was first represented via a single-vineyard bottling in 1978, a production Paolo undertook at the behest of his son, Enrico. The Scavino estate's premiere cru production and most renowned bottling, Bric dël Fiasc is now one of four cru wines in the portfolio (Cannubi, Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva, and Bricco Ambrogio are the other single-vineyard Barolos). Bric dël Fiasc characteristically carries the most formidable structure of Scavino's Barolos, an austere sensibility coupled with imposing power. This state of profound tension is ameliorated only through an extended period of cellaring, which typically transpires over 20 years.
   
 
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