Date of visit: June 10, 2022
Our History With Cavallotto & Our June 2022 Visit
For us, a trip to Langhe isn’t complete without a visit to Cavallotto. Every wine in Cavallotto’s lineup is crafted with the same care and attention to detail as their flagship Barolo, and it shows. Vintage after vintage, these wines overdeliver, and are an absolute joy to taste. In addition to their extraordinary wines, Giuseppe, is one of the most knowledgeable, hospitable, and kindest winemakers that we’ve ever encountered. For us, a visit to Cavallotto is always one of the highlights of our trip.
As we walked toward the tasting room, we could hear the loud clanking of bottles. Giuseppe informed us that they were bottling some of their wines as we speak. We followed Giuseppe into a room just across from the tasting room, and watched as 2021 Pinner was being bottled. After a minute or two, Giuseppe said “if you’d like, we can try one right now…”, and before we could respond he reached over and grabbed a bottle off the bottling line before a cork had ever been placed in it, smiled, and led us over to the tasting room. We began with a freshly bottled 2021 Pinner, fresh off the bottling machine.
Our Tasting Notes
2021 Pinner: “Pinner”, whose name is derived from a combination of the words “Pinot and Nero”, is a rosé-like wine made from 100% Pinot Nero grapes grown on East and North-East facing slopes in front of the Cavallotto estate. These slopes which aren’t suitable for Nebbiolo make a fantastic home for Cavallotto’s small production of Pinot Nero and Chardonnay. Pinner is an interesting wine that we’re not sure whether to categorize as white or rosé. It’s vinified as a white wine, but has the appearance of a rosé, and in our opinion, sits in a category of its own. The 2021 we tasted had just been filtered one day prior to us tasting it, and it had been bottled right before our eyes just a minute or so ago. Pinner is made 100% in stainless steel, and is bottled unfiltered. The 2021 has beautiful aromas of citrus, red fruit, strawberries, raspberries, and a hint of mint, all of which carry over to the palate, along with flavors of tart green apples with vibrant, crisp acidity. This wine is always an extremely unique and beautiful expression of Pinot Nero that we happen to enjoy very much, particularly during warmer months.
2018 Barolo Bricco Boschis: Made from grapes exclusively sourced from Cavallotto’s Bricco Boschis vineyard. Cavallotto has a monopole of the Bricco Boschis vineyard, meaning they are the sole owners of this MGA. An abundance of red fruits, pine, tar and roses rise from the glass along with raspberries, black peppercorns, leather, some balsamic and a faint hint of licorice. A beautiful and very expressive nose. The palate delivers pine, rosemary, tart red fruits, as well as black and white pepper with soaring acidity. Giuseppe said that with additional time in bottle the acidity will become more subdued, and he feels that this wine will develop very nicely with time. Very fresh, approachable, and enjoyable at the moment, but also has excellent cellaring potential. This is an absolutely beautiful Barolo and expression of Bricco Boschis, and is one of our favorite 2018s tasted so far.
2016 Barolo Riserva Vignolo: Vines are grown in various parcels within Cavallotto’s small 1.96 hectare plot within the Vignolo MGA, located adjacent to Bricco Boschis. Classic Nebbiolo aromas of tar and roses leap out of the glass, along with gorgeous floral aromas, and hints of pine and anise, all of which are beautifully intertwined. An extraordinarily expressive and beautiful nose. Flavors of tart cherry juice, tar, roses, and leather. The mouthfeel is incredibly silky smooth, with extremely impressive structure. Ultra fine, beautifully integrated tannins, with impeccable balance. Giuseppe stated that he believes the long maceration times are part of what gives this wine its structure, balance, and also what makes it so accessible. This wine is extremely enjoyable now, but is capable of aging many, many decades. Of all the Barolo Riserva Vignolo that we’ve tasted from Cavallotto over the years, this one is probably our favorite. This has the potential to be one of the longest lived Barolo that we’ve had the opportunity to taste. This Barolo has an incredibly long life ahead of it and will age effortlessly for decades to come.
2016 Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe: Made from a selection of Cavallotto’s best grapes from their oldest vines grown within the San Giuseppe parcel within the Bricco Boschis MGA. A highly expressive nose filled with classic Nebbiolo aromas of tar and roses, along with some leather, cacao, and a hint of licorice. Flavors of tar, roses, leather, and some licorice. The palate is a very classic, and extremely structured Barolo with impeccable balance. Perfectly integrated, ultra fine, but forward, bracing tannins. A silky and velvety mouthfeel, this wine manages to dance along the palate, and gets more and more enjoyable as it has time to open up in the glass. This wine is extremely enjoyable now, though we suspect this wine is really going to shine with a few more additional years spent in bottle. This wine will without a doubt age beautifully and effortlessly for many, many decades to come. Of all the Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe that we’ve tasted from Cavallotto over the years, this one is probably our favorite. A truly incredible wine, and one of the most magnificent examples of Barolo that we’ve ever tasted
Thank You
Thank you, Laura, Valentina, Giuseppe, Alfio and everyone at Cavallotto for welcoming us back once again, and for sharing your incredible wines with us. Your wines were absolutely magnificent as always, and we had a wonderful time speaking with you. We look forward to seeing you again in the very near future. Grazie mille!
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