Paolo Scavino Melbourne Dinner 2023
he Scavino family (Enrico and his daughters Enrica and Elisa) carry forth an important family legacy with a wide range of cru-specific wines that brilliantly exhibit individual styles MONICA LARNER, Wine Advocate
In so many ways, 2016 is all about being in the right place at the right time for Barolo. An ideal growing season with all the prerequisites for a great vintage comes at a time when so many winemakers are in their primes, past the stage of experimentation and settled into their own personal styles. The result is a vintage full of truly spectacular, breathtaking wines that captures all the pedigree that Nebbiolo and Barolo are capable of. ANTONIO GALLONI
Enrico Scavino and his two daughters, Enrica and Elisa, continue to produce outstanding Barolos year in and year out. WINE SPECTATOR
Enrico Scavino and his daughters Elisa and Enrica stand out from their peers for their never-ending search for quality.
Scavino is one of the great, established families in Piedmont. Enrico Scavino, along with his daughers Enrica and Elisa, have built quite an empire over the last few decades. It seems like every time I visit, the family has acquired a new choice parcel. As always, the Scavino Barolos are defined by their textural richness and opulence. When they are young, the wines are decidedly powerful and intense, but they have also proven to age exceptionally well. ANTONIO GALLONI
A visit to the grand estate of Paolo Scavino is quite something. It is more of a compound than a house. The tour around the grounds really illuminates the family's drive to continue to improve, admirable when you are already at the top of the game.
When Michael and I stopped in a couple of years ago they showed us the huge new underground cellar being built and the fermentation vessel that they had designed for them to keep the cap submerged. A v-shaped base to allow the marc to be easily removed once fermentation had halted, allowing for a more gentle extraction. They explained that they continued acquiring new vineyards in the best sites across the communes and were going to release a new riserva wine to celebrate their 90th vintage. It never stops at Scavino.
There is a sense here that as good as their wines may be, and they are tremendous, they want more from them. There is a sense of restlessness here, an obvious ambition to keep this iconic estate at the very top of the game. The people exude the same confidence and certainty that the wines demonstrate, but also the same energy and excitement. You don’t get that feeling often enough when visiting domaines held in similar regard.
As to the wines, there are few estates in the region that marry traditional and modern winemaking so well, they have moved past that old, tired discussion about modernists and classicists. Traditionally their top cuvees spend the first 10 or so months in barriques, never more than 15-20% new, before being transferred to large botti for the rest of the ageing. However in recent years they have begun to move towards fermenting wines more in large wooden vats. Not the entirety of the plots but portions of them. This shift has yielded Baroli with even more definition and clarity, simply another tweak in the constant quest for perfection that is so clear at Scavino.
Here the wines have a richness, suppleness and plushness to them, at their best they exude appeal, a suave and enticing nature, offering up a more hedonistic expression of Nebbiolo. That can be a little misleading in their youth as the freshness and silken feel belie their ageability, the structure often saturated by fruit when young. Time is required for them to unveil all the beauty they hold amongst that youthful enthusiasm. When it comes to Paolo Scavino you can’t go wrong, they are among the most consistently great producers in Piedmont!
A last little point to make, but an important one I think. With the now steady increases in pricing in Barolo the Scavino wines remain remarkable value when one considers the breath taking quality of their portfolio and the more humble price tags they attach to them. I don’t know how long that will continue, for now though these are some of the best buys in the region.
Cheers
Roscoe
In so many ways, 2016 is all about being in the right place at the right time for Barolo. An ideal growing season with all the prerequisites for a great vintage comes at a time when so many winemakers are in their primes, past the stage of experimentation and settled into their own personal styles. The result is a vintage full of truly spectacular, breathtaking wines that captures all the pedigree that Nebbiolo and Barolo are capable of. ANTONIO GALLONI
Enrico Scavino and his two daughters, Enrica and Elisa, continue to produce outstanding Barolos year in and year out. WINE SPECTATOR
Enrico Scavino and his daughters Elisa and Enrica stand out from their peers for their never-ending search for quality.
Scavino is one of the great, established families in Piedmont. Enrico Scavino, along with his daughers Enrica and Elisa, have built quite an empire over the last few decades. It seems like every time I visit, the family has acquired a new choice parcel. As always, the Scavino Barolos are defined by their textural richness and opulence. When they are young, the wines are decidedly powerful and intense, but they have also proven to age exceptionally well. ANTONIO GALLONI
A visit to the grand estate of Paolo Scavino is quite something. It is more of a compound than a house. The tour around the grounds really illuminates the family's drive to continue to improve, admirable when you are already at the top of the game.
When Michael and I stopped in a couple of years ago they showed us the huge new underground cellar being built and the fermentation vessel that they had designed for them to keep the cap submerged. A v-shaped base to allow the marc to be easily removed once fermentation had halted, allowing for a more gentle extraction. They explained that they continued acquiring new vineyards in the best sites across the communes and were going to release a new riserva wine to celebrate their 90th vintage. It never stops at Scavino.
There is a sense here that as good as their wines may be, and they are tremendous, they want more from them. There is a sense of restlessness here, an obvious ambition to keep this iconic estate at the very top of the game. The people exude the same confidence and certainty that the wines demonstrate, but also the same energy and excitement. You don’t get that feeling often enough when visiting domaines held in similar regard.
As to the wines, there are few estates in the region that marry traditional and modern winemaking so well, they have moved past that old, tired discussion about modernists and classicists. Traditionally their top cuvees spend the first 10 or so months in barriques, never more than 15-20% new, before being transferred to large botti for the rest of the ageing. However in recent years they have begun to move towards fermenting wines more in large wooden vats. Not the entirety of the plots but portions of them. This shift has yielded Baroli with even more definition and clarity, simply another tweak in the constant quest for perfection that is so clear at Scavino.
Here the wines have a richness, suppleness and plushness to them, at their best they exude appeal, a suave and enticing nature, offering up a more hedonistic expression of Nebbiolo. That can be a little misleading in their youth as the freshness and silken feel belie their ageability, the structure often saturated by fruit when young. Time is required for them to unveil all the beauty they hold amongst that youthful enthusiasm. When it comes to Paolo Scavino you can’t go wrong, they are among the most consistently great producers in Piedmont!
A last little point to make, but an important one I think. With the now steady increases in pricing in Barolo the Scavino wines remain remarkable value when one considers the breath taking quality of their portfolio and the more humble price tags they attach to them. I don’t know how long that will continue, for now though these are some of the best buys in the region.
Cheers
Roscoe