2022 Scavino, Paolo - Barolo Bricco Ambrogio (750ml)

Paolo Scavino's family split its original eleven-hectare farm in the 1950s, when brothers Alfonso and Paolo divided an equal share of the celebrated Fiasco hill, with Paolo's portion eventually passing to his son, Enrico. Enrico has spent decades refining the estate ever since, gradually reducing the percentage of new oak used across the range and, in the early 2000s, purchasing Bricco Ambrogio in the village of Roddi on a hunch about the site's potential, a vineyard that today stands as one of the estate's signature single-cru wines. Now run alongside his daughters, Enrica and Elisa, the domaine farms about thirty hectares entirely within the Barolo zone, spread across eight villages.

Bricco Ambrogio is considered the most important vineyard in Roddi, the northernmost point of the Barolo appellation, sitting at 275 meters on marl and limestone soils with a south-southeast exposure. Wide vineyard valleys and steep diurnal temperature shifts here keep the wine lighter and more perfumed than Scavino's other crus. First produced in 2002, this is nearly a monopole for the estate. The grapes are hand harvested after mid-October, undergo submerged-cap maceration for ten to twelve days, ferment with indigenous yeast, and age through a long combination of neutral French oak, large casks, and stainless steel before a final rest in bottle.

The wine offers aromas of iris, dog rose, wild berry, forest floor, and menthol, layered with succulent marasca cherry, crushed raspberry, blood orange, mint, and licorice. The tannins are soft and polished, with fresh acidity keeping everything beautifully balanced. It pairs well with braised meats, mushroom dishes, or aged cheeses.