Exclusive owner and producer of the famed Bricco Boschis Cru, Cavallotto is situated in the heart of Barolo’s Castiglione Falletto commune. From here the Cavallotto family craft a set of wines that are as traditional as they are delicious. Castiglione Falletto’s sandy/calcareous clays combine with Cavallotto’s meticulous viticulture and low yields to produce wines that offer both bewitching depth and texture as well as the classical structure that plucks away at the heartstrings of Barolo devotees.

While the showpiece of the family’s vineyards is the monopole Bricco Boschis, there is also the adjoining Vignolo Cru that also produces outstanding Barolo. Nonetheless, the majority of the Estate’s bottlings come from the majestic Bricco Boschis, at the foot of which can be found both the family home and cantina. Facing south/southeast, this sun-drenched hill has long been considered one of Barolo’s blue-ribbon vineyards. The entire planted area covers some 8.8-hectares, yet because of variation in soil composition, elevation and aspect, the Cavallotto’s parcellate the site into three subzones; Vigne Colle Sud-Ovest, Punta Marcello and Vigna San Giuseppe. The last of these is also bottled as a single Cru Riserva. The densely planted, old vines grow here at an altitude of 300-360 metres and the soils—a patchwork of yellow, white and grey calcareous clays, interwoven with sand and sandstone—are as varied as the vineyard’s myriad exposures.

The Cavallotto’s staunch belief is that wine should be allowed to make itself, rather than be driven by the market. It’s a belief we passionately agree with.

Cavallotto blood runs deep in Castiglione Falletto and while the Estate remains steeped in tradition, it is also one of the region’s true pioneers. It was under the stewardship of Olivio and Guido Cavallotto, in the 1970s that this Estate began managing their vineyards organically, inviting ridicule from their neighbours. The brothers were also the first to interplant grasses between rows and to introduce natural pest management, not to mention restricted yields (today the yearly average is a low 32-38 hl/hl).

This was also one of the first Barolo producers to vinify and bottle their own wine, beginning in the 1940s. The wines continue to be fermented using indigenous yeast and there isn't a whiff of small oak in this surgically clean cantina. All the reds we ship, save for the Dolcetto (which rests only in tank) are aged exclusively in mammoth-sized Slovenian botti. Today it’s the fifth generation, Alfio, Giuseppe and Laura who continue their family’s rich tradition, with the same attention to detail in both the vineyards and cellars. Much more comfortable amongst the vines than in the public eye, these humble siblings are growers in the purest sense, a fact that is reflected in the quality of every Cavallotto bottle.

Deep, soulful and classically styled Barolo is the name of the game here. All Cavallotto wines seem to unfurl in the glass, slowly picking up levels of textural sensuality and minute detail as they breathe in air—the longer you spend with them, the more they reveal. Even the Dolcetto and Barbera come from the same slopes as the Nebbiolo’s and are cut from similar, old-school cloth. The style of the wines reflects the vintage, the superb sites and the Cavallotto family’s exacting viticulture and traditionalist winemaking approach.