Barolo, Bricco Ambrogio, 2020

Enrico Scavino is surely responsible for the great reputation Piedmont has today with holdings in Barolos finest Crus, Cannubi, Bric del Fiasc and Rocche dell’Annuziata. Through meticulous vineyard work, fermentations and finishing in a mixture of French oak barriques and the larger traditional ‘Botti’ casks, Enrico makes svelte wines whose polish and sophistication enhance rather than shroud their character and typicity. He works with daughters Elisa and Enrica who are now the fourth generation of this family estate, established in 1921.

Enrica and Elisa Scavino have delivered a remarkable 2020 vintage. The wines are more finely carved, tactile, and precise than ever – here a floral kick, there a sinewed grip, Nebbiolo on the beat. Elisa describes 2020 as “a vintage of quality and quantity – perfumed – not austere or overly powerful, a beautiful interpretation of Nebbiolo. It is not a vintage of huge concentration but elegance.”

A vineyard close to the Scavinos’ hearts, they bought into the relatively unknown Bricco Ambrogio in 2002 and have expanded their holdings from five hectares to seven hectares. The top cru of the lesser-known commune of Roddi, a very windy terroir exposed southeast and planted at 150 metres above sea level.