Cavallotto, Barolo, Bricco Boschis San Giuseppe Riserva

Great bottle. Complex, rustic style.

2006 vintage

Medium dark ruby - somewhat bricking. Medium intense nose of dried roses, red cherries, raspberries, almonds, some tar, earthy forrest floor, licorice, oak. Palate similar. Slight black pepper and black tea bitternes. Fresh acidity - but softened by the aging. Rounded tannins. Long aftertaste. Mature, appears to be close to zenith. Medium body, high- acidity, high- tannins.

2001 vintage

Affected bottle. Volatile acidity. It's Barolo after all...great wines but so many off bottles.

2006 vintage

Dinner at Mark's place 12 September 2025 (Wellington, NZ) : Mark served this pair of nebbiolos double blind. In these years Cavallotto had some cork and other problems resulting in major bottle variation but this example was in pristine shape … A wine I have had many times - including twice at the winery in 2016 and 2018, tasting with Giuseppe - over the years. A nose of black cherries, plums and berry fruit, with savoury, earthy and sottobosco elements. …

2009 vintage

Double decanted, drank with Christmas dinner 5 hours later. Cherries, tar, roses, Chinese 5 spice and menthol. The tannins are still prominent, and this wine tastes younger than 19 years. I wish I’d waited another couple of years, and I imagine this will last another 19 years too.

2006 vintage

Nebbiolos, white truffles, Volume X "Do you want some leftovers?" (Chicago, IL) : I didn't quite like the bottle I had almost ten years ago, but tonight's bottle held its own against a whole slew of heavy hitters. This is a bit more rustic than the others, with more of a coarse-grained tannic profile here. The fruit is relatively black, with some earthy tones as well. Still quite stern and structural, as you might expect from a 1906, but an …

1996 vintage

NebbioloFest X (Chicago, IL) : ~6 hour decant. A great 1996 that is just approaching it's peak drinking window. Lovely crystalline red cherry fruit. Upside as this gains a little more nuance.

1996 vintage

A big and somewhat brutish wine in terms of intensity of flavors, which were truly unique for any barolo I've had before: salty chocolate notes, vibrant acidity; alcohol showed a bit; then came cinnamon coated dark cherries. I would love to see how wine turns out in another handful of years.

1996 vintage

Delicious, full bodied. Perfume of dried rose petals. Real depth of blackberry fruit easily balances the structure. There are nice tertiary notes of leather, earth and hints of tar. Long, with complexity. Drinking beautifully now. Personally I would not wait any longer, as the fruit is likely to dry-out at some point.

2001 vintage

Drank in 67 Rich deep and beautiful. Fully mature

2001 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Found it flat and uninteresting.

2001 vintage

Medium garnet. Pronounced aromas of black plum, red cherry, vanilla, smoke, coffee, chocolate, thyme, dried fruits. High acidity, medium+ smooth tannins. Long finish. This is outstanding and has more years ahead. Wonderful.

2006 vintage

Decanted 2 hours then fantastic

2009 vintage

Flickinger Tasting at The Casino (Chicago, IL) : Very 2008 with respect to the red fruit here. The tannins are still coarse and young, but I feel the fruit is expressive and plentiful enough that this will be easily able to age the 20-30 years necessary.

2008 vintage

From magnum Tasted side by side Felaina riserva Rancia 2010. Cavallotto won. On the nose it has: cherries, it’s ethereal, gravy, basement, roses, lipstick, acetone and medicin cabinet. In the mouth it has: some tannins, very balanced. With low acidity and a long nice finish Fully mature and wow what a pleasure

2001 vintage

This was a good lesson in the importance of proper aeration. When I first opened it, the wine was a discombobulated mess of bitter tannins and tart acidity. I reserved two glasses in quarter-size bottles to save for day 2 and then poured the rest in a decanter and then back into the bottle to get slow oxygen for about 7 hours (on day 2, I opened the reserved bottles and gave them about 3 hours of slow-ox). My patience …

2001 vintage

Steak, Truffles, Bubbles, and Barolo (Portland, Oregon) : This was decanted for a few hours before drinking. It opened up even more in the glass with beautiful and perfumed tones of Sour red Cheries, raspberries, cranberries, violets, crushed rocks, savory spices, licorice, herbs, roses, tobacco leaf, and some tar notes. There is so much depth and layering right now as it’s in full harmony. The Full bodied feel is elegance, deep, and silky with tart, high acidity and resolving, high …

2001 vintage

Decanted 1 hour ahead. Beautiful,classic style Barolo. Improved all evening - still quite young. 95 points

2008 vintage

Tasted blind. Too ripe for my palate, notes of black fruit compote, kirsch, fierce tannins. I didn’t like it so much.

2001 vintage

Tasted blind. I thought it was too alcoholic and tannic, though initially it did exude crushed rose petals so was easy to nail as a Barolo. Perhaps needs more air but I’m not sure - or was double decanted 3 hours prior.

2001 vintage

glass poured for dinner at Piazza Duomo; first time having this wine; after the Scavino Annuziatta riserva, but this was more red fruited and fresh; still with tobacco and earth, hint of orange tea and floral notes; super intense on the palate, but maintains lovely balance and freshness; long and persistent; very good

2017 vintage

Classic Barolo nose in a ripe register: rose pastilles and herbs, deep dark ripe fruit. The roses are the strongest note. Rich ripe on the palate, very dense slightly cooked character but fresh acidity keeps it on the right side of overripe and balanced. Nice fresh acidity and lots of fine tannin on the finish. Not sure where this is going: it�s a bit disjointed at the moment but very balanced. Good for a decade or so at least.

2007 vintage

Stood up and decanted off 1-2oz fine sediment. Light-medium ruby, slightly darker than the lighter nebbiolo style, slight bricking; aromatic, black cherry, tar, a bit of savory soy and umami; palate is light bodied, high tannins which are integrated (for nebbiolo), balanced 14.5% alcohol, richer and blacker fruits; medium length finish. A well balanced barolo at early maturity showing some savory and tertiary complexity, but certainly with plenty of life left in it. A darker style of barolo, which isn't …

2006 vintage

11/12, excellent cork. Decanted and served. Pale/medium garnet core, pale rim. Nose opens up to reveal pure red cherry and strawberry fruit - quite youthful with notes of black tea and florals. Medium bodied, pure red fruits on initial entry, touch of spice and black tea, has presence and depth on mid-palate with underlying form, but fine tannins, fresh acidity carrying a very good length lightly grippy finish with just a touch of orange peel. So of 11 bottles to …

2001 vintage

10/12 - corked!

2001 vintage

Purchased a case from D’Vine here in PDX many years ago. And stored professionally since. 3/3 have been cooked. The experience of friends whom have purchased the same is identical. One of these days I’m going to destroy the rest of mine. Sigh….

2001 vintage

Cavallotto Tasting at Biondivino (Biondivino, San Francisco) : Another very good wine in this line up. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt with the rating. It did show a bit more in the palate throughout than the '18 BB and had more density, tannin, and a very long well balanced finish. Perhaps a bit closed as well but this one seems to be holding back more. I don't usually rate on potential, but given this line up it …

2017 vintage

Cavallotto Dinner (Acquerello, San Francisco) : Good youthful light ruby without fading. A pretty mixed up nose of funk, fennel, VA, and perhaps a touch of oxidation-not very pleasing. Lovely medium weight with a strong foundation of soil. Generally cooler in style. Subtle black cherry, and once again a bitter chocolate note. Surprisingly, some prune comes out later. More complex and lacy than the 2011 but still disappointing after a beautiful, harmonious bottle of this last year.

2008 vintage

Beautiful and complex, juicy red berries, herbs and spices, some earthy impressions, good acidity and sticky tannin. Wait some years for more finesse.

2017 vintage

Beautiful aged Barolo. So clean and majestic. what a structure. A 12 second impressive finish. A treat and great to find 2 forgotten bottles in the cellar...

2001 vintage

Elegant wine, spicy nose, palate with enormous potential but still very tight, wine in the making, not yet ready

2017 vintage

9/12 - good looking cork, minimal soaking. Advanced.

2001 vintage

From a single named plot within Cavallotto's famed Bricco Boschis vineyard, this is or ought to be a cult wine for Barolo fanatics. It has a striking bouquet of crushed roses, cloves, tar and molasses. The astringency is pretty extreme and demanding. Saved by pitch-perfect acidity. It is, even at 6 years, in its very early stage of evolution. Patience!

2017 vintage

Jero. Decanted for ~7 hours. While decanting, the nose bursts with florals, cherry and tar and the aroma remains intense hours late with dinner. The palate is gorgeous with so many layers and seamless integration. So impressive.

1996 vintage

Even more savory and amazing.

2017 vintage

Magnum. Double-decanted at noon and drunk seven hours later. Immediately accessible upon opening with a complex array of black smoky aromas including soot, tar and berries. Superb middle-weight taste with some tannin and long aftertaste. With dinner it was neither better nor worse, just a bit different: the black aromas were less prominent, and this was simply a great layered and calmly mature barolo that was worth waiting for. It will probably keep for a several decades.

2001 vintage

Just lightly oxidized. Tannins fully resolved. I agree with the prior comment, drink now. No need to decant.

2001 vintage

8/12, good cork. Not decanted. Pale/medium garnet core, wide pale garnet rim. Nose shows bright red cherry fruit, touch of mushroom, tea, some tar too. Medium bodied, red cherry fruit, touch of savoury meat on the mid-palate, very fine tannins, has nice presence and gras on the palate, vibrant acidity, very good length quite spicy finish. Delicious, a good bottle, drinking well.

2001 vintage

I've nearly worked my way through a case of this bought from a good source and it has been a disappointing journey. The bottle I'm currently drinking is largely oxidised and one dimensional, much like some others in the case. I'm persevering out of sheer stubbornness given its the last throw of the dice. Other bottles I've had showed well briefly, then with air, just returned to a dull and uninspiring state. Likely I just don't get these wines. Perhaps …

2001 vintage

"The stench is dissipating" (Chicago, IL) : Served double blind, but it was known to be an older vintage of one of the wines tonight. The nose was horrid with some unidentifiable dirty notes that required a lot of swirling to dissipate the stench. The palate, however, was stunning, with sweetness, even if the fruit wasn't fresh at this point. For me, this was a guess of 1982 or 1985, just based on the age and ripeness of the wine. …

1982 vintage

01/04 pairing. A clear step up in concentration, power and structure following the Giacosa SS and Bartolo bottles. The 01 is ever so slightly more ready compared to the 04 but this wine requires serious air and rich food to break down the still sturdy tannins. Better in 10+ years but I love the work-in-process and component parts. Upside from here.

2001 vintage

"The stench is dissipating" (Chicago, IL) : Inordinately youthful, this feels like this hasn't aged at all. More red-fruited (like all the 2001s) but darker-complexioned in comparison to the non-riserva wines at the table today. Brutally tannic but clearly some very good material on the palate that just needs time to emerge from behind the tannin. This wine's upside is in the future.

2001 vintage

A perplexing wine that perhaps suffered from a short 2-3 hour decant vs. the 7-8 hours of air it deserves. Either way the nose here is unpleasant with dirty/oxidative notes that are hard to sniff. Amazingly the palate is pure with lovely fruit and dried florals. Hard to explain.

1982 vintage

Decanted 4 hours before serving, tasted next to the 2004. Deep red core, noticeably lighter and less saturated than the older wine-this looks like aging Nebbiolo. Immediately seductive aromas of mint, cherry, and orange peel with a more integrated impression and less assertive than the 2004. Light to medium body, flowing, supple feel with excellent acidity and earth but much less remaining tannin than its compatriot. A beautiful, classic wine which stole the show for me, but to be fair, …

2008 vintage

7/12. Medium garnet. Quite fragrant, red fruited, touch of spice, as it should be. Medium bodied, elegant, with fine tannins, red cherry fruit, touch of fig, fresh/vibrant acditiy, good length finish.

2001 vintage

From DMG poured into decanters. Had this with my team during an apero with casual Italian food. Took a moment to open up and then displayed the beautiful Nebbiolo aromas of dark cherry, raspberries, intermixed with rose petals, some herbal notes like anise and leather on the finish. Still quite tannic but not overly drying, perfect with Pizza where we needed that structure. Early maturity. This will surely add a point or two once fully mature. 94-96

2008 vintage

Decanted for an hour. From when first popped it was drinking much older than a typical 2001. Fruit and tannins mostly resolved. Middle aged flavor profile but not with advanced tertiary tar and leather yet. Can't explain this evolution since it is so atypical for other 2001 barolo. Bought on release and stored perfectly. More advanced than my 1999 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe. Drink these up.

2001 vintage

Boy's Long Lunch with Greg (Otto Y Mezzo, Alexander House, Landmark, Central, Hong Kong) : From magnum from the Otto Y Mezzo winelist as I remember. Totally transparent lambs blood colour. Nose is Iron Bru, iron filings. Quite tannic. Medium length. Iron and tannin are the main components. Probably an example of 'a bottle opened more than we needed' at the end of a long lunch.

2008 vintage

Recent wines drunk at home : Drunk from Zalto Denk'Art Burgundy stem over three evenings over which it integrated and improved, drinking at its best on the third evening. Deep, dark crimson, a little garnet at the rim. A bouquet of mainly dark cherry, plum and berry fruit, with savoury, earthy, brambly and spicy nuances. More sottobosco and old leather notes emerged on the third evening. More savoury and earthy on palate than the Bruno Rocca drunk after it. Still …

2009 vintage

I have not had a lot of vintages of this wine, and own only a few myself. Perhaps I should purchase more. This is a powerful, regal wine. The red-fruited intensity of the midpalate was striking, and the acidity was electric. Not subtle, but delicious.

2001 vintage

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Cavallotto, Barolo, Bricco Boschis San Giuseppe Riserva

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