Neal Rosenthal has worked with the Brovias for decades, since he imported the 1978, one of the great years of the last half century for sure.
The farming here by the Brovia sisters Cristina & Elena and Elena's husband, Alex, is natural, using zero chemicals in the vineyard. This approach continues in the cellar where the indigenous-yeast fermentations in old, glass-lined concrete tanks took about a month this vintage. Always a pretty old-fashioned house, Brovia has recommitted to more traditional elevage. In 2008 they reintroduced large Slavonian casks for the first 18 months of aging, followed by another year and a half in French oak (previously, the wood was all French; both are 30hL).
But the best part is the family's vineyards. With holdings in Altenasso (Garblèt Sue'), Villero, and Rocche di Castiglione, Brovia underscores Castiglione Falletto's crossroads nature. Standing at the meeting point of Serralunga's Helvetian limestone soils of in the east and the sandier Tortonian ones to the west, CF vineyards vary enormously, and Brovia's bottlings offer a unique annual survey of what's happening in the zone.
And, as if that weren't enough, there are the vines in Serralunga at Brea, a cru that was featured in Renato Ratti's famous '70s-era map of Barolo's top sites, but which fell off collectors' radar for many decades. Preeminent cartographer and Barolo expert Alessandro Masnaghetti credits the Brovias with returning Brea to its former high regard.
Professional Reviews
Antonio Galloni
AG
96
"The 2013 Barolo Villero is magnificent. In fact, the 2013 may very well be the single most impressive young Brovia Villero I have tasted. Specifically, the flavors are vivid, delineated and wonderfully alive. The characteristic Villero spiced/balsamic notes are very much present. Black cherry, menthol, licorice, cloves and lavender infuse the impeccable, layered finish. Today, the Villero is explosive and showy. Readers will have to be patient. This is a fabulous showing." -Vinous
Robert Parker
RP
95
"With only 5,000 bottles produced, the 2013 Barolo Villero is a wine of enormous beauty and purity. The bouquet shows precision and focus with long-range aromas of dried forest berry, spice, wild rose and white licorice. There is a slightly salty or mineral note that adds to the wine's overall dryness and polished nature. This is a beautiful Barolo that requires at least 10 more years in the bottle."
Wine Enthusiast
WE
96
"Fragrant and full bodied, this textbook Barolo opens with quintessential Nebbiolo aromas of red cherry, rose petal, new leather, dark spice and a balsamic note of menthol. It's still young and taut but already shows great breeding and class, offering Marasca cherry, cranberry, licorice and clove set against a backbone of assertive but refined tannins and bright acidity."