2016 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo
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Tasting notes
The Cavallotto 2016 Barolo Riserva Vignolo is an organic wine that shows superb balance and great intensity. Elegance and power are in fact the twofold hallmark of this iconic vintage. This is a polished and silky wine with an almost glossy or latex-like quality to its tannins (that I love, by the way). This 5,333-bottle production hails from a two-hectare vineyard with 40-year-old vines. It has southwest exposures at a breezy 220 to 310 meters in altitude.
Critic scores
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Barolo Riserva Vignolo is going to need time to emerge, as it is pretty austere today. Red cherry, iron, incense, white pepper, cedar and tobacco are enshrouded by a blanket of intense tannin. The flavor profile is decidedly old-school leaning, in a way that is not too common these days. Firm, dusty tannins wrap it all together. Quite frankly, the 2016 tastes like a wine from another era. I can’t wait to see how it ages.
Castiglione Falletto. Sandstone soil with lots of limestone, and almost white. Cask sample, not yet in stainless steel. Mid to deep ruby with a brickstone rim. Cool spicy nose that is still a little shy on the nose and with mineral notes. Crunchy juicy fruit on the palate, and still a little backward. Sour cherry and hints of orange peel, energetic acidity and finely ground tannins and a long sweet-sour cherry finish. (WS)