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Producer Profile

Cavallotto

Alfio Cavallotto and I recently sat down in New York to survey a selection of the winery’s Barolos encompassing a broad range of vintages. According to Cavallotto the estate is less well-known because historically his family preferred to focus on the quality of the wines, and consequently some of the more commercial aspects of the business weren’t given as much importance. As a result the wines remain some of the most reasonably priced Barolos on the market. Cavallotto is also one of a very small number of Barolo producers with a collection of older vintages. Over the last year or so the estate has gradually been re-releasing wines from their extensive library. These bottles offer wine lovers the rare opportunity to taste wines from historic vintages with perfect provenance. I am told that most of the re-releases will end up in restaurants. Readers who have the opportunity to drink these lovingly cared for Barolos are in for a treat. As delicious as the older wines are, Cavallotto’s newer releases are just as noteworthy, as this tasting amply demonstrated. In time they too will offer just as much, if not greater, pleasure.

The Cavallotto winery is located in Castiglione Falletto, the town that is geographically in the center of the Barolo zone. 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. The estate’s largest holdings are in the Bricco Boschis vineyard, which lies just north of Monprivato. Bricco Boschis is divided into three sub-plots; Punta Marcello, Colle Sud-Ovest and Vigna San Giuseppe. Punta Marcello is the highest portion of the vineyard. During the 1970s and 1980s the fruit from Punta Marcello was used almost exclusively for large format bottlings. Despite its name, Colle Sud-Ovest actually has a due south, rather than southwest, exposure. It is the warmest microclimate of the hill. The wines from this part of the vineyard have proven to be more accessible when young, with softer tannins and a shorter aging curve. Vigna San Giuseppe is the heart of the vineyard and yields structured, age-worthy Barolos. Many of the vines are quite old and therefore the exact nature of the clones that are planted is not entirely known. Cavallotto believes that these old clones are just as important as the differences in soils in terms of explaining the unique qualities of the individual parcels. ANTONIO GALLONI, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate

A family run company, Cavallotto may not be the best known Barolo producer, but the focus here is on producing top quality wines reflecting their respective varieties and terroir. Owning vineyards in Bricco Boschis - one of Barolo’s premier vineyards - Cavallotto’s range spans from delicious affordable wines to balanced, powerful Barolo’s and offers great value across the range.

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