Barolo San Rocco
2019
Azelia is still something of a Barolo lover's secret. Though the estate is not a high-profile one, proprietor Luigi Scavino is cousin of Enrico Scavino of the renowned Paolo Scavino estate, and shares ownership of the famed Fiasco hill in Castiglione Falletto with him. Luigi, his wife Lorella and son Lorenzo Scavino own and maintain 16 hectares of vines in Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba (including Cru Barolo from Margheria, San Rocco and Voghera Brea) and Montelupo Albese (for their...
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Very pure fruit with crushed strawberries, spices and white truffles on the nose. The palate is full and tight with brightness and focus. Firm, creamy tannins. The super quality of fruit really comes through here.
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Attractive aromas of dried flowers, red berries and tar follow through to a full body of gorgeous fruit and layers of ripe, fine tannins. Extremely long and chewy with a powdery sense to the tannins. Thought-provoking wine.
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The 2004 Barolo San Rocco is in a gorgeous place right now. Expressive savory and floral notes open up in a lifted Serralunga Barolo endowed with superb underlying depth and textural richness. Ample, layered and beautifully expressive through to the finish, the 2004 is just as impressive today as it was from barrel. The 2004 spent two years in French oak barrels, 20% new.
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Intense aromas of blackberry and violet turn to Spanish cedar and tar. Full and chewy, with lots of racy tannins. Long and very pretty. Wonderfully polished. Best after 2011. 560 cases made, 390 cases imported.
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Azelia's 2016 Barolo San Rocco shows terrific density and richness, but it is less aromatically expressive than most of the other 2016s in the range. Readers will have to give this at least a few years in bottle for the tannins to soften. Even in the early going, though, the 2016 is deep, powerful and loaded with pedigree. Now that most of Azelia's wines are aged in cask, the influence of small French oak is especially evident.
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The 2017 Barolo San Rocco is powerful and tightly wound. All of its energy is focused inward today. There is terrific brightness and focus to the red berry fruit, but the 2017 is not in a mood to show much today. Readers will have to be patient. I am encourage by the wine's solid feel and pure power.
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The 2001 Barolo San Rocco is even more impressive than the Bricco Fiasco. Here it is the Serralunga muscle and grip that informs the wine to a great degree. Tar, smoke, leather and plums wrap around the intense, virile finish. The 2001 San Rocco is young, young, young. What a great showing!
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an Rocco is a small MGA located on the northern side of Serralunga d'Alba with steep slopes that open toward Cerretta with clay and limestone. The 2019 Barolo San Rocco (with 7,300 bottles made) benefits from tighter space and a protected microclimate to produce powerful wines. However, this vintage certainly needs more time in bottle and is nowhere near expressing its full potential now. The bouquet is rigid and unyielding at this time.
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San Rocco typically produces Barolo with a darker character compared to the other MGAs of Serralunga. Here, black cherry and blackberry are joined by mint and chocolate, with an intense menthol depth. The attack is dense and full, followed by austere tannins, refreshing acidity, plenty of mid-palate weight and a thick finish. Its sternness dominates the aftertaste, which seems to be less expressive than expected. There's good potential for ageing here.
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A serious wine to cellar, this opens with restrained aromas of fresh and dried cherries, black pepper, enticing violet and liquorice root. Intensely floral in flavour, it has an assertive, almost aggressive acidity at present, with muscular, still-rugged tannins at the end (although the initial impression is softer). Not really ready to drink now, but will improve with ageing.
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I like the focused aromas of red-berries and sea shell-like minerals, which are starting to latch onto the very fine but chewy tannins on the medium-bodied palate. Focused, but a bit tight to drink just now. Give it some time to open up.
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With fruit from Serralunga d'Alba, the 2018 Barolo San Rocco offers a mix of fruit, floral and earthy aromas. These are some of the cornerstones of fine Nebbiolo, and this vintage does a good job of balancing out these various elements. The San Rocco is more accessible and can be enjoyed in the medium-term if you don't want to wait.
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