2003 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio

Scented, autumnal with some tar and real richness and rather more obvious, even heavy fruit than is customary with Barolo. A Pommard of a Barolo. (JR)

The 2003 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is made in a big, fruit-driven style. Although it is unquestionably a well-made wine it offers limited complexity and elegance. Like the Cannubi, it is also penalized by hard tannins which ultimately dominate its balance. Enrico Scavino is a fervent believer in his newest Barolo. Unfortunately the first two vintages (2002 and 2003) haven't given him much to work with. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with in future vintages.

The 2003 Barolo Bricco Ambrogio is made in a big, fruit-driven style. Although it is unquestionably a well-made wine it offers limited complexity and elegance. Like the Cannubi, it is also penalized by hard tannins which ultimately dominate its balance. Enrico Scavino is a fervent believer in his newest Barolo. Unfortunately the first two vintages (2002 and 2003) haven’t given him much to work with. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with in future vintages. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2018. This set of new releases from Enrico Scavino is representative of the vintage. Because Scavino produces Barolos from so many different sites, including four single-vineyard wines as well as two blends, his Barolos make for a particularly fascinating analysis of the 2003 vintage. Scavino has decided to release his 2003 Rocche dell'Annunziata as a Riserva, so we will have to wait a few years to see that wine. My early tastings of that wine suggest it is not up to Riserva-level quality, but this is a vintage with many surprises, so it will be interesting to follow its development in bottle. "In 2003 we worked with slightly lower temperatures in order to avoid over-extraction. We also used less of the press wine, which typically has the hardest tannins. After fermentation the wines were racked into French oak barrels (1/3 new) for a year, and then moved into casks for the second year of aging," says Enrico Scavino. I tasted a number of promising Barolos from the 2004, 2005 and 2006 vintages, including the first wine Elisa Scavino is making on her own. It is a 2006 Barolo from the Via Nuova vineyard in Barolo that was fermented with manual pumpovers and punchdowns and aged in 100% new Taransaud oak. It will be fascinating to watch the evolution of this passionate, emerging winemaker. A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300, Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700, and Estate Wines, Ltd., San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 492-9411