Vintage Of A Lifetime Barolo

SCHIAVENZA: ONE OF BAROLO’S GREAT UNDISCOVERED PRODUCERS

"The 2016 Barolo campaign has been monumental due to the fact it is truly the vintage of a lifetime combined with reasonable pricing. Today, we are highlighting Schiavenza, one of the legendary, yet less discovered Barolo producers. The 94 point 2016 Schiavenza Barolo del Commune di Serralunga offers the perfect example of why the 2016 vintage is stunning... their wines are brilliant examples of what great Nebbiolo can achieve. It is also one of the greatest buys of this stunning vintage at only $39.99! For those Barolo fans who appreciate the more classic and traditional style of Giacomo Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello or Brezza, you will love the wines of Schiavenza, and the quality/price ratio here is unparalleled. We also have a little left of the 95 point 2016 Schiavenza Barolo Prapo that is exqisitely cellar worthy. Please check our website for our terrific sleection of 2016 Barolos before they are sold out. This is the greatest Barolo vintage to date, please do not let it pass you by!

The Azienda Agricola Schiavenza is located in Serralunga d’Alba, in the heart of the Langhe. The estate was founded in 1956 by brothers Ugo and Vittorio Alessandria and is now managed by the second generation of the family: daughter Maura along with her husband Luciano Pira.

The farmhouse and the surrounding land were once owned by the Opera Pia Barolo where the vineyard work was carried out by the sharecroppers. In the local dialect, sharecroppers were called "schiavenza" – this is the origin of the unusual company name.

Today the estate extends over eight hectares of vineyards in the territory of Serralunga d’Alba, including the notable crus of Broglio, Prapò and Bricco Cerretta. Pira crafts a traditional Barolo; he does not work with barriques in his cellar – his wines are aged in the traditional large Slovenian casks (botti), he uses only naturally occurring yeasts and he ferments the wines in cement cisterns.

The estate produces only reds and is often among the last producers to bottle their Barolo wines which consistently show great depth and balance in the classic and traditional style.

Incidentally, the family also runs an informal trattoria in the center of town that features authentic regional Piemontese cuisine." – Lance Montalto, The Wine House

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Due to a Wine House staff member testing positive for COVID-19, we are closing the store temporarily. However, our website is not sick, and emails can still send. These are tough times, and we are a family owned and run retail store that relies on the patronage of our customers, whose support has been unbelievable over the past 10 months. So, to keep the lights on and staff employed, we will continue to send out our unique wine emails. We are grateful for your understanding and continued support.

While the store is closed, we will process some orders; however, we will not be staffed to ship or to handle curbside pickup. Orders will be available for curbside pickup when we reopen the store, which we expect to be Saturday, January 30. That said, please check our website before coming to the store! Thank you, stay healthy and, as always, drink well!

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94 Points: "Drawing upon fruit from one of the most interesting and consistent subzones in the appellation, the Schiavenza 2016 Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d'Alba puts a lot of intensity and beauty right up there for you to admire. The bouquet shows a glossy, polished quality with shiny cherry and plum. That smoothness applies to the palate, most specifically to the tannins that leave some astringency at this young stage but are otherwise integrated. The wine's complexity is enhanced by spice, rusted iron, blood orange, balsam herb and hints of truffle essence. Some 11,800 bottles were made. Schiavenza offers us terrific value in this classic vintage." – Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (July 2020)

92 Points: "Very attractive, ripe aromas of strawberries and cherries follow through to a full body with a big, rich mouthful of ripe fruit and chewy tannins. Needs a year or two to soften more, but already very open." – James Suckling (August 2020)

91 Points: "The 2016 Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba is a punchy, fruity wine that will drink well right out of the gate. A burst of dark red cherry and plum fruit gives the 2016 a good deal of immediacy. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s natural power. The Comune is a blend of fruit from Meriame and Cerrati. It is one of my favorite wines in the range." – Antonio Galloni, Vinous (October 2020)

95 Points: "The Schiavenza 2016 Barolo Prapò impresses just as much as the Cerretta. Both wines show amazing clarity and purity, and this one from the lowest-altitude vineyard (at 300 meters above sea level with compact marl soils) is distinguished by its vibrant quality of fruit. There is a lot of zesty energy locked within this release of just 2,973 bottles, and as the wine pours forth, it builds intensity with each additional sip. Both crus reveal a solid build with tight tannins to carry them forward in time as they complete their cellar aging. Patience is required." – Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (July 2020)

94 Points: "A dense, very tight Barolo with crushed ripe strawberries, flowers and fresh mushrooms. It’s full-bodied, but very compact. Linear, tight tannins. Drink in 2023 and onwards." – James Suckling (August 2020)

93 Points: "Camphor, steeped cherry, pipe tobacco and new leather aromas come together in the glass along with a hint of underbrush. On the brawny palate, close-grained tannins accompany dried black cherry, licorice and cinnamon before leaving a drying finish. It closes on an almond note. Drink 2024–2031." – Kerin O’Keefe, Wine Enthusiast (September 2020)

ABOUT SCHIAVENZA

Schiavenza is located in Serralunga d'Alba in the heart of Piedmont's Langhe district, celebrated for its great Barolo vineyards. The estate was founded in 1956 by the brothers Vittorio and Ugo Alessandria; the estate and surrounding area were formerly part of the Opera Pia Barolo (a castle that is kind of like the Hospices du Beaune: part educational institution and part hospital) whose vineyards were traditionally worked by sharecroppers. The local dialect for sharecropping is schiavenza. Today, the estate is run by the second-generation Alessandria sisters, Enrica and Maura, and their husbands Luciano Pira and Walter Anselma. Their holdings include 8.95 hectares in Serralunga with a small 0.5ha plot in Monforte d’Alba, and include the heralded crus Prapò, Cerretta, and Broglio. For the last 19 years, they have also run Trattoria Schiavenza, right in the middle of the village of Serralunga. It is perennially recognized in Slow Food's Osterie d'Italia guide for its excellent traditional fare, which draws in both local winemakers and tourists.

In the vineyard, they do not use pesticides or herbicides. Cover crops such as clover and mustard greens are planted to achieve balance and limit yields naturally. Harvest is manual and is conducted according to the phases of the moon. In the cellar, they use only naturally occurring yeasts, and ferment the wines in cement cisterns, with 20-25 days of maceration. In terms of aging, the wines see extended time in the traditional large 3000-3600L Slavonian oak casks called botti. Tasting the three crus side by side, one realizes what Schiavenza is all about. All three crus are on the east side of the Serralunga ridge, so exposures are all same, to the southeast. Yields are more or less the same. Cellar treatment (fermentation, length of maceration, vessel, and length of aging) is all the same. The differences one feels have only to do with the variations in cru and vintage.

Over the last few vintages, Schiavenza has made some subtle but effective changes in the cellar. There is a gentler approach to extraction and when the press wine is used, it comes from their new, delicate hydraulic vertical basket press. The length of aging in botte for the Barolos has also been reduced, coming down to around 30 months whereas it had previously been 36+ months. Getting the wines into bottle earlier has helped preserve the fruit for the long haul.