James Suckling 97
"Extremely perfumed with plums and dried flowers, as well as walnut and hazelnut undertones. It’s full-bodied with a solid core of fruit and chewy, polished tannins. This has gorgeous linear drive with solid tannins. Really excellent. Give it four to five years to come together. Best after 2025."

Wine Advocate 96
"With fruit from Castiglione Falletto, the Paolo Scavino 2017 Barolo Bric dël Fiasc is another terrific release from this leading estate. In fact, this wine delivers a big step up in terms of intensity and clarity, with a seamless integration of dark fruit, spice, balsam herb and sweet cherry. It also shows enormous clarity and definition, thanks to subtle touches of limestone and mineral. This wine figures high on a list of the best Barolos made in 2017."

Vinous Media 95+
"The 2017 Barolo Bric del Fiasc is another gorgeous wine in the line up from the Scavino family. Readers will find a Barolo that is more nuanced and less bombastic than in the past. Bric del Fiasc has plenty of power on its own, so this style works so well. Dried rose petal, mint, spice, kirsch and iron all blossom with a bit of coaxing. I cant wait to see how it ages. -- Antonio Galloni"

The Wine
This cru is the image and identity of the Paolo Scavino winery. Their very first single vineyard Barolo made for first time in 1978, in Castiglione Falletto from the Fiasco cru. Theirs since 1921. Balance of elegance and power. Density of fruit, vibrant and refined tannins in the texture. In the Fiasco vineyard the Tortonian and Helvetian soils cross each other combining a great finesse and power. Classy and classic expression of Nebbiolo which requires time to develop all its complexity is Bric dl Fiasc. The texture characterizes this Barolo: earthy imprint, density of fruit, vibrant and refined tannins. The acidity supports the important structure of this Barolo and lifts the nose which is complex, mineral, balsamic. Little red fruits and licorice are typical notes in Bric del Fiasc

The Estate
The most remarkable thing about Enrico Scavino is that even today, this man ever longs to make better Barolo. Generations at the helm of his family estate, founded in 1921, have already proven him a leader in the qualitative advances that have occurred in the Barolo area. And yet, he has never stopped the experimentation that has always kept him on the avant-garde of the Langhe area. He continues to vinify his wines parcel by parcel, taking advantage of these small fermentations to try to make better wines. In fact, in 2007 Enrico has even designed and fabricated his own fermentation vessel, used exclusively on his Barolo, to improve the finesse of extraction from his nebbiolo. Now with his daughters Elisa and Enrica working with him full-time, it would seem possible for this statesmancontemporary of Domenico Clerico and Elio Altareto take a step back. Instead, Enricos passion is further bolstered by the presence of the next generation! And speaking of family, Id be remiss not to mention that Enricos first cousin and neighbor is Luigi Scavino of Azelia fame. Alfonso, father of Luigi, and his brother Paolo, father to Enrico, divided ownership of the 11 hectare Scavino farm in the 1950s, giving each an equal share of the famed Fiasco hill.

Castiglione Falletto lies in the very heart of the Barolo area its soils are of both tortonian and helvetian origins, stratified amongst each other. In other words, crus in Castiglione like Bric del Fiasc (or even Bricco Boschis for that matter) combine the elegance of Barolo and La Morra with the power of Serralunga and Monforte! The first vintage of Bric del Fiasc was 1978as a Barolo Riservahence the release this year of the 30 year anniversary Bric del Fiasc Riserva 2008 (AG:97+). But Enrico never closed his eyes to the beauty of the neighboring communes: in 1985 he signed a long-term lease on a small parcel in Cannubi in Barolo. Next, in 1990, he acquired a piece of the famed Rocche Annunziata cru in La Morra. In 2002, with the help of Domenico Clerico, he purchased a piece of Bricco Ambrogio, the most renown vineyard in the commune of Roddi. And most recently in 2007 he added a piece of Monviglero, considered the grand cru of Verduno.

Winemaking at the estate has evolved over timebut the one constant, even from the days of Enrica and Elisas grandfather, was hygiene: the cleanliness of the winery and health of the grapes remain paramount. Technology has had its influence: Enrico recalls working the vineyards with oxen and horses, and said of the purchase of his first tractor I couldnt have been happier if my father had gifted me a Ferrari! In 1993, rotofermentors arrived at the estate, and between 1996-1999, Slavonian casks were replaced with French oakbut barriques here were always and only used for the first 10 months of aging to help fix color before the wines were transferred to larger oak botti. The percentage of new oak has been much reduced from a height of 30 from the 1990s to 2004, to only 20 new from 2004 2008, 17 new in 2011 & 2012, and for the 2015 harvest they have even reduced to a further 14 new. Quality control is crucial. Scavino could make more winebut the estate chooses to sell off from 10-30 of the production in bulk to maintain their super high standards. This small family farmwhich essentially started with 5.5 hectaresnow manages 29 hectares of vineyards, and regularly finds itself classified amongst the other top estates of the region.

A word on Scavino Barolo.
All of the wines are subject to scrupulous care of the vineyards in order to grow healthy and high quality grapes. Yields are limited. Vinification and aging are the same for all of the non-riserva Barolo to emphasize the terroir of each site. Each cru & sub-cru is vinified separately in stainless steel. Native yeasts, temperature control during fermentation, 8 12 days maceration, 20 30 days of alcoholic fermentation. Selection of the best performing plots during the first year of aging. The under acheiving ones, depending on the vintage, are sold off in bulk. Aging 10 months in neutral French oak barrels, then 12 months in large casks, 10 months in stainless steel, 10 months in bottle before sale.