My three days in the Langhe begin in the middle of the night at an airport a thousand kilometers away from Caselle, where I arrive just as the sun rises above the horizon. A rental car, and off I go on the Turin-Savona road, which I leave at Cherasco. The scenery begins to change, and the sensations start to transform into emotions when I cross the Tanaro for the first time. But it is when I catch a glimpse of the first signs indicating Barolo, La Morra, or Novello that I feel it is all true. Until the umpteenth uphill curve that seems like all the others. But once I crest the hill, there it is: that landscape you've never seen but know it is the one. Expanses and expanses of perfect vineyards within their boundaries, graceful in their ups and downs on those gentle hills that have entered into legend.
The first time you see the Langhe, you never forget it. In my case, it was precisely in Barolo.
Wherever I stop, it's just long enough for a photo. The schedule is packed, and the first appointment is already approaching, I don’t want to be late. I take the road to Castiglione Falletto, the navigator tells me 10 minutes. Names I’ve only read about in books or on online shopping sites flow by on my right and left: Damilano, Borgogno, Luciano Sandrone. My first stop is at the house of one of the men who revolutionized Barolo. It is at Paolo Scavino, a company founded just over a hundred years ago by Lorenzo Scavino, who named it after his son, who in turn passed it down to Enrico Scavino, one of the "Barolo Boys", the generation that made Americans fall in love with this wine in the early '80s. Today, it is run by his daughters Enrica and Elisa, because on a sad February 25, 2024, Enrico passed away. "At nearly 83 years old and with 72 harvests under his belt," as Roberto, the sales manager who will guide me through the company visit and the subsequent tasting of their wines, tells me.
Thirty hectares in total in 8 of the 11 municipalities of the denomination. A production dedicated to a little over 60 percent of Nebbiolo. Grapes that are processed in places carved up to 15 meters below the hill. There are two distinct areas: in one, large French and Luxembourg oak barrels where the Barolo ages for 20 months; in the other, bottles transition in which the wines mature before being released on the market. All of this is enhanced by a third area dedicated to the historical collection with bottles (about 75,000) starting from the 1960s.
Nine wines to taste. An emotion after another.
Starting with the Langhe DOC Sorriso 2024, a white wine with great mineral tension made from chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and viognier, born from Enrico Scavino's passion for great French whites. Then comes the lineup of reds. Barbera d’Alba DOC Affinato in Carati, from a 70-year-old vineyard in Roddi, produces only 5,000 bottles after 10 months spent in small barrels. The nebbiolo debuts with the Langhe Nebbiolo 2023, a wine designed to introduce enthusiasts to the world of Barolo: less power and tannin, more fragrance and finesse. And here it is, "the king of wines, the wine of kings." There are as many as six labels (all from the 2021 vintage) from which to seek analogies and differences, nuances and particularities. The Barolo (a great vintage like 2016) follows the old tradition of blending multiple vineyards, in this case 7, all cru, among Barolo, Castiglione, and Serralunga. Aromatic and fine, powerful and incredibly long. The Bricco Ambrogio, of which Scavino was the first to make a cru among the only 4-5 who produce it, is the most "feminine." The Ravera, at 430 meters, is the highest of all, and the freshness benefits from it. The Bussia Vigna Fantini, which is being released for the first time this year, is the culmination of Enrico's dream of having a cru in Monforte as well. The Prapò, of which only 6,000 bottles are produced, comes from the least productive vines, and today, in any company vineyard that has a plant to replace, it is reclaimed from the selection of this vineyard. Finally, the Bric del Fiasc, a concentration of company history: the vineyard was planted in 1921, when Lorenzo Scavino divided the company among his sons. Two and a half hectares out of the 7 of the entire cru, in an area where the serravalliana and tortoniana zones merge. Exceptional sands and a ferrous water spring provide finesse and minerality.
I leave the heart of the denomination, I take the provincial road that leads to Alba in a north-east direction, I follow the Tanaro River, I pass the city of truffles and enter that world which, mistakenly or for futile simplicity, some still consider to be the younger sibling: Barbaresco. Here is Albino Rocca, one of those realities that have made this land great, rightly remembered by information panels placed all around the tower of the castle of the town that gives its name to the DOCG.
It is a family story that has reached the fourth generation (the fifth is on the horizon...), starting with the great-grandfather of the current owners who in the late 1800s collaborated with Domizio Cavazza, the "father" of Barbaresco. I am welcomed by Paola, granddaughter of Albino and daughter of Angelo, who tragically passed away along with his wife in a plane crash in 2012. With passion and, at times, emotion, she tells me about the total of twenty hectares between Neive and Barbaresco (since 2016, wine is also produced in Roero), for 16 labels and 100,000 bottles, a quarter of which are white.
A wonderful panoramic terrace on the Ronchi and Ottà cru, a splendid underground area where the bottles rest and history is told through images.
I'm tasting a Piemonte Cortese DOC, truly a rarity. Literally. Albino Rocca is actually the only company in Barbaresco producing a white wine from this grape variety whose center of choice is in Gavi, in the province of Alessandria. Structured (8-10 months of wood), excellent intensity and incisive savoriness. Continuing with the Dolcetto D’Alba 2024 and then with the fruity freshness of the Barbera d’Alba Superiore Gepin 2022 from 70-year-old vines. To reach the range of Barbaresco: starting with the Ronchi (vintages ’21 and ’22), the cru at the top of which the company overlooks that has been producing it since the '60s, continuing with the Montersino (’21, with Meruzzano, it is the southernmost and highest MGA of the denomination, up to 470 meters) and finally with the Angelo 2019. Dedicated to the father, it's made with grapes from Ronchi for 50 percent and for the remaining in equal parts from Montersino and Ovello. Since 2021, a Reserve has also been produced in only 2000 bottles. History and love for family and land concentrated in the glass.
The first day is also the most intense. I leave Barbaresco and head back southwest of Alba, this time, however, to La Morra, in the heart of the central amphitheater that also extends to the territories of Barolo and Castiglione Falletto. At Oddero, they have decided to include the year of their foundation (1878) in their name, underlining the origins of a story that begins with a sales document, now a true relic, and that becomes one of the most representative companies of the largest of the Langhe municipalities. Here, in 2010, a new storage facility was opened, while the barrels undergo the usual process whereby they are used for a couple of years with Barbera to "soften them" before being destined for Nebbiolo.
And at Oddero, where I am welcomed by what, more than a tasting, is a very precious lesson from the estate's winemaker Luca Veglio, there is plenty of nebbiolo. But there is also riesling, like the Langhe 2023 which undergoes 12 hours of maceration to enrich it with structure, or the Monlià 2023, from that grape variety that is currently in the spotlight, the timorasso. The barbera in the Nizza 2022 seduces with its freshness and red fruit in jam, while the Langhe Nebbiolo 2023 and the Barbaresco Gallina 2022 impress with their fresh elegance.
Tasting the long series of Barolo is not just an enchanting game of discoveries, but also a journey through the many territories of the DOCG.
There is the voluminous, long 2021 with plenty of dark fruit. And then there are all the crus: from a fragrant Capalot 2021 that comes from the idea of doing something never done before, that is, vinifying the grapes from Santa Maria where the winery is located, to the Villero 2021 which, despite the heat of the Castiglione Falletto bowl, brings with it a nice freshness along with plenty of fruit and spices. From the great aromas of the Bussia Vigna Mondoca 2019 Riserva to the thrilling mini-vertical of Vignarionda: the voluminous Riserva 2018, the emotive 2013, the slow unfolding of 2010. An unforgettable conclusion to the day.
The journey does not end here. Continue with: Barolo and Barbaresco, the soul of the noble Piemonte
