Paolo Scavino Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2020 (750ML)

97 JD / 97 JS / 96 VM / 95 WS / 95 KO / 95 WA / 16.5 JR

#60 James Suckling Top 100 Italian 2024
#80 Jeb Dunnuck Top 100 2024

A deep red hue, the 2020 Barolo Rocche Di Castiglione is very expressive and detailed on the nose with notes of pure cherry liqueur, fresh rosemary, lifted spice, blood orange, and rocky earth. Energetic and balanced, it reveals lovely tension on the palate, with fine tannins, an even, mouthwatering spine of acidity, and a long finish, with notes of apricot lasting on the back palate. This beautiful wine is only going to improve over the coming two decades.-Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck

Intense and ashy nose with ripe but refined berries, sweet spices, orange rind and lots of minerals. Compact yet resolved tannins unwind evenly on the full-bodied palate. Long, ashy end with some sweet spices that aren’t fully integrated yet. Better from 2027.-James Suckling

The 2020 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is a new wine in the range. It takes the place of the Carobric, which was a blend of Cannubi, Rocche di Castiglione and Bric del Fiasc. A few years ago the Scavinos lost their lease on Cannubi, which impacted their ability to continue to make Carobric with the customary blend. That may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the new Rocche di Castiglione is off the charts. Silky, aromatic and pliant, with striking textural depth, the 2020 is immediately captivating. The purity of flavors is just breathtaking. What a wine!-Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

A bright beam of cherry courses through this red, with strawberry, floral and mineral elements in supporting roles. Though structured, this stays balanced and pure through the long, fruit- and mineral-infused aftertaste. Really captures the 2020 vintage. Best from 2027 through 2046. 100 cases made, 26 cases imported.-Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator

The debut vintage of the Paolo Scavino Rocche di Castiglione has aromas of exotic brown spice, violet, leather, forest floor and camphor. Brooding and concentrated but also showing a beguiling weightlessness, the savory palate delivers plum, black cherry, coffee bean and licorice framed in velvety tannins. Drink 2027–2035. Abv: 14.5%- Kerin O’Keefe      

This is a retaste. The Paolo Scavino 2020 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is the inaugural vintage from a vineyard that has been in family hands since 1996. In 2018, their lease in Cannubi was terminated, and the blended Barolo Carobric was deconstructed. That opened the door to making a single-vineyard expression from Rocche di Castiglione. The wine shows power and balance. It's not sweet, but it almost appears so due to its volume and ample texture. You feel some of the saltiness of the cru with crushed rock and iodine and plenty of red and purple fruits to follow. This slippery site with sandstone soils suffers from erosion issues, and the Scavino family built an important retaining wall to protect it. This is one of the first vineyards to see budbreak and among the first to be harvested. -Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate

Castiglione Falletto. Lustrous mid ruby. Savoury-sweet red fruit on the nose of great depth. Lots of fresh raspberry and firm tannins that could do with a bit more stuffing to counteract them. Perhaps further bottle age will do the trick.-Walter Speller, JancisRobinson