Community Tasting Note

• bevetroppo Likes this wine: 91 points

  April 23, 2017 - Thoroughly modern Millie, but that's no reason not to like it. Nose full of cocoa, coffee, and ripe plummy fruit: almost like a Piedmontese merlot. Licorice, dark red fruits, tar, and good grippy tannins in the mouth. Very forward and inviting. If you enjoy this style of Barolo it's a great example. For me, I appreciate it but it's a little too eager to please, like an overanxious puppy. Good news is you can call it a puppy at age 7. There are plenty of dog years ahead.
  
  Edit: please see the comment submitted by dbp. I am apparently dead wrong about this being a modern Barolo-the family follows very traditional practices. It clearly hit my palate in an intensely sweet and oak-inflected way that isn't explainable through what is said publicly about the way the wines are made, so I recommend you read other reviews for a more "balanced" perspective.

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11 Comments

• David Paris (dbp) commented:

  4/24/17, 8:51 AM - That is a very interesting interpretation about what you're drinking, because Cavallotto is a staunch traditionalist and there is nothing "modern" about the production of this wine. As one importer says, "The Cavallotto family were one of the first small bottlers in the Barolo zone, starting in 1948... The Cavallotto family hasn't changed at all in this time; their wines were made by traditional methods 50 years ago, and they are still."Not only do they practice natural farming, but they see very long maceration and then aging in large Slovinial botti (of course, no barrique). So... I gather from your review there's something you don't like about the wine, but it can't be because it's made with modern techniques, which I gathered you were implying, because it isn't. :-) 2010's do tend to have beautifully expressive fruit, even if they're massive as well. My first bottle of this vintage was actually flawed, but I am familiar with Cavallotto and am surprised someone would find them tasting "modern" (i.e. barrique, short rotodrum fermentation, etc.).

• bevetroppo commented:

  4/24/17, 4:44 PM - dpb-thanks for the really thoughtful and well articulated comment. I stand corrected if their methods are as traditional as described-couldn't be more old school. It's possible I reacted more to the ripeness of the vintage, but at least to my palate there was sweetness and seemingly oak-related influences I would never have otherwise expected. I will amend my note to refer to your comment. Thanks again.

• SMagowan commented:

  4/24/17, 5:53 PM - Nice to see such a thoughtful exchange, good people. This was interesting to read. I am visiting the winery in a couple of weeks on my first visit to Barolo. Cheers and thanks for the review and the comment.

• il_diavolo commented:

  4/24/17, 10:40 PM - Just adding to the trail that Cavallotto does use roto-fermenters and have done for a while. Despite this, it is true that they are generally thought to be in the traditionalist camp flavor wise. A prominent critic includes "sweet" and "polished" in this wine's review, and another one "dense, chewy and ripe" so you are probably getting some of the primary fruit flavors from the great 2010 vintage. You would probably have a very different experience with their "bigger" crus. Cheers

• David Paris (dbp) commented:

  4/24/17, 10:50 PM - Indeed, they are not as traditional as the most, so I did over state that. I do consider myself a "staunch traditionalist" when it comes to what Barolo I enjoy, and I do enjoy their wines, including the ones I've had back to the '70s and 60s, so they certainly have aged quite well, too! I'm looking forward to having more of the 2010's I purchased... but probably not for 20 years. I didn't make a visit on my last trip to Barolo, but they will be on my list for the next trip.

• bevetroppo commented:

  4/25/17, 5:29 AM - First, let me say that I've published more than 1300 tasting notes over the last 10 years, and this is by the far the most informative and entertaining stream of comments I've yet seen. Thanks to all of you who have participated so far. My questions for those of you more familiar with the Cavallotto style is, are roto-fermenters associated with a more extractive approach to wine making, which might partially account for some of my initial impressions, and how common is their use in Piedmont among top tier producers? I'd love to know when they started this regimen and if any of you have tried older Cavallotto wines made this way. Thanks again.

• il_diavolo commented:

  4/25/17, 5:36 AM - They started using rotos in the mid-90s. It is fair to say that nobody can tell you for sure whether the wines made since then will age like the 60s,70s etc wines. However, based on my own impressions on the 2001 VSG and from others of the 1999 VSG, it would seem that the age-ability and style has been maintained. To your embedded question, I would guess that cavallotto is the only producer that you would classify as "traditional" who is using rotos, nobody else (I think) in that camp does that.

• Keith Levenberg commented:

  4/25/17, 7:53 AM - See if you can track down this Matt Kramer article about Aldo Conterno's use of roto-fermenters from 1999. The only thing I was able to find online was this abstract. http://www.readabstracts.com/Food-and-beverage-industries/All-Noir-all-the-time-Accommodate-them-he-said.html But it's a good summary of the use of roto-fermenters to make modern Barolo. The idea was to get gentler, pinot noir-like tannins, apparently the idea being that if you slosh the wine and skins around for awhile you can speed up the fermentation before it leeches out the really tough hardcore tannins.
  
  That said, that doesn't describe how the roto fermenters are used at Cavallotto. I recall them mentioning that they do something like a quarter turn of the machine every 12 hours or something like that. That's about as gentle as you can get, not like Aldo Conterno's washing machine.
  
  Even so, I don't disagree with your original assessment that there is a modern aesthetic in the style at Cavallotto. I like the wines but they are unquestionably made in a way that leaves them with vibrant primary fruit and a polished, glossy texture. They are not at all like many of the ultratraditionalist Barolo with sandbags of tannin and pale red fruit teetering on the edge of browning. I don't know what they do in the cellar that accounts for that, but I think they've struck a good balance.

• David Paris (dbp) commented:

  4/25/17, 7:56 AM - I agree with il_diavolo... none of their wines that used roto fermenters are yet old enough to tell how well they can age. That said, the wines I've had from the late 90s are still plenty in tact, which can't be said for plenty of full modern houses (I'm speaking to my palate, obviously). Total conjecture: I personally still have some concern though, and would expect they won't age as long as something like Giuseppe Rinaldi or Bartolo Mascarello. The whole point of roto fermenters is to break up the tannins and make the wines more approachable and creamy in their youth. This HAS to have an impact on the wines long term, one way or another. The wines may still be good in 50 years, but I bet they won't be drinking the way the current 1961s are drinking. I bet those 1961s were totally unapproachable for 20 years... which, for most people buying wine these days with the intention to drink them in their own lifetime, may not be a bad thing. Now to argue with myself some more, that said, what's the primary structural element that's living strong in ancient Barolos? It's not (always) tannins... it's acid. I would hope the acid profile can be maintained even if you're intentionally changing the tannin profile, so perhaps they will age just as long if the acid is maintained. But still, they will age differently, regardless. Sorry for arguing with myself... it's just a fun topic to discuss. :-)
  
  To your other questions, I do think the roto fermenters may come into play with what you tasted, as their purpose is to make creamier, more approachable wines in their youth. I think a lot of the vintage came to play, too. This is actually something that will make the 2010's great in their old age, because they do have the fruit profile to remain delicious. That said I think the 2010s are likely firmly in an awkward window at this point where they'll likely remain for some time.
  
  As for the commonality of roto fermenters in "top" producers... that totally depends on who you think is a top producer. :-) There are plenty of wines that score in the upper 90s from the major publications that have a huge following that use roto fermenters spinning like mad and then put the wine in barrique. Certainly, the full traditional producers (the aforementioned Rinaldi, Mascarello, Cappellano, Burlotto, Giacomo Conterno, etc.) don't use them. So, with my bias included, I'd argue that no, MY top producers don't use them. But inherit in your question is an opinion.

• bevetroppo commented:

  4/25/17, 7:30 PM - Thanks everyone for such thoughtful responses. I learned a lot in this discussion. I prefer more traditional approaches in Barolo (and Mascarello is certainly one of my favorites). But like seemingly every other aspect of wine, there's more than meets the eye here, and I need to be more careful about making sweeping characterizations beyond what I actually taste, or at least not until I've done a little research. Whether we all taste the same thing, that's another topic entirely!

• thesternowl commented:

  2/28/19, 12:49 PM - This is far and away the most thoughtful, constructive exchange I have seen on a CT TN in the nearly ten years I've been an active user. It does not surprise me that I already follow many of you. Bravo.

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