2015 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 750 ml

Barolo is already a heart-stirring category for us, but a needle-in-a-haystack discovery like this 2015 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis was so gorgeous it left us tongue-tied. This Nebbiolo was all we could talk about for days, like love-struck teenagers. 

We weren’t the only ones. The normally loquacious Wine Advocate’s impressive 96-point review concluded simply with, “This wine is truly beautiful.” An exuberant yet elegant bouquet of classic Morello cherry and crushed rose petal gives way to ethereal and savory undertones of cured meat, smoked bacon, and herbs. Taut, polished, and playfully deceiving on the palate, there’s an impressive depth and power behind all that polished grace. Layered nuances of almond, licorice, tar, and pipe tobacco add even further complexity, and the structural definition and mineral cut are profound.

The silky, persistent finish is marked by a regal tannic structure. 2015’s extra warmth created an amazingly balanced wine with no hard edges, which can be enjoyed young after an hour’s decant, or cellared with confidence for 15 or more years.

With all the gorgeous power and velvety intensity of the estate’s $130+ Riserva bottling, this double-96-point 2015 Bricco Boschis bottling outscored the last two Riserva vintages, which Vinous founder Antonio Galloni anointed “among the most exciting wines being made in Barolo.” For a $75 Barolo, the price is especially impressive in a vintage that James Suckling declared the “best since 2010—maybe better.”

As Galloni put it, “Cavallotto has been on a tear of late.” The estate was off the radar screens of all but the most devout Barolo aficionados until recently, thanks to the family’s myopic focus on quality over marketing and PR. As a result, the wines remain some of the most reasonably priced Barolos you’ll find, which was part of the reason we were rendered so speechless upon tasting this 2015 Bricco Boschis.

From “what is surely one of the most beautiful vineyard sites in Barolo,” according to the Wine Advocate, the Bricco Boschis cru in Castiglione Falletto affords a stunning panoramic view of the Langhe hillsides, with the snow-capped Alps in the background. The wines of Castiglione often show an intriguing combination of the floral qualities that are the hallmarks of La Morra and the greater structure, power, and age-worthiness that are typical of the Barolos of Monforte and Serralunga.

Five generations of the Cavallotto family have made wine at this 62-acre estate. Today, heirs Alfio, Giuseppe, and Laura continue to produce the noninterventionist wines that have earned this estate a steady and enthusiastic following.

The Cavallotto family purchased this beautiful hilltop property back in 1928 and would later be among the first to make officially registered Barolo in 1948. That long-term, uninterrupted generational knowledge has provided an important level of farming and technical experience that sets this estate apart and keeps the wines so beautifully traditional year after year. 

As a result, collectors know Cavallotto—especially examples like today’s stellar dual 96-point Bricco Boschis—is uniquely poised to deliver some of the most authentic and true Barolos on the market today.