2010 Brovia Rocche Castiglione
"Transparent, vibrant Barolos that pulsate with tension, crystalline purity and site-specific nuance."
-Antonio Galloni
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2010 in Barolo is the sort of vintage that changes a whole landscape. It’s that good.
Over the past 5-7 years, Brovia has really stepped up their game and joined the shortlist of Piedmont's best. The 2010 vintage establishes without a doubt that Brovia is making some of the finest traditional Barolos around.
For us, Brovia’s Rocche is the headliner of their 2010 line-up. There’s a beguiling combination of floral notes, spice, red fruits and earthy minerality. Above all, there’s length, finesse and a detail present that we absolutely love. It’s both textbook Rocche and supremely compelling.
Rocche is a key site for Brovia. Not only does Brovia have a very choice parcel in the vineyard, but it’s their oldest holding and home to their oldest vines. This is the Brovia bottling that we’ve found ourselves falling the hardest for over the years.
Rocche di Castiglione strikes a gorgeous balance between the more muscular Barolos of Monforte and Serralunga and the more perfumed and feminine examples from La Morra. Rocche leads with beautifully complex floral notes, red fruits and spice notes and is backed by a firm edge of raw tannin. Above all, Rocche is about aromatics and elegance.
The 2010 vintage provides the perfect occasion for a long overdue discussion of Barolo’s terroir. Barolo has long established itself as one of the great wine regions of the world.We don’t need a vintage like 2010 to establish this. For much of the market, however, Barolo is driven largely by producer name recognition. The fact that Barolo is an intricate system of individual vineyards, each with distinct traits (reminiscent of Burgundy), seldom receives the proper amount of appreciation.
A wine like Brovia’s 2010 Rocche places terroir in clear focus. The wine gives you such a vivid snapshot of the vineyard. Even in the context of the superb 2010 vintage, we couldn’t help but single out Brovia’s Rocche. It stands out for its precision, harmony and overall completeness.