"This is a gorgeous set of wines from Brovia." -Antonio Galloni

With each vintage, Brovia steps up their game. They are one of Piedmont's long standing traditionalists. However, recently, they've emerged as one of Piedmont's best.

Despite their place among Piedmont's top traditionalists, Brovia's wines cost significantly less than their peers. It's difficult to know how long this pricing discrepancy will hold, but it's easy to assume that its days are numbered.

Unsurprisingly, Brovia's 2012 Barolos represent a high point of the vintage. This is a dead serious collection of radiant and transparent wines. Out of the line-up, Villero flaunts the energy and structure of Brovia's 2012s.

I'm happy to offer Brovia's 2012 Barolo Villero for $74.95 on bottles and $69.95 in 4-packs.

A signature of Brovia's wines is how they dramatize the nuanced complexity of savory and earthy notes that makes Nebbiolo one of the world's greatest grapes. They show haunting, ever-evolving aromatics of dried roses, violets, mint, truffles and tar.

Villero is one of the top sites of Barolo’s Castiglione Falletto commune - right up there with Monprivato or Rocche di Castiglione. This commune is known for its full aromatics and rich, velvety structure, and Villero fits that profile to a tee. The vineyard faces southwest and has mostly clay soil, which gives the wines their sense of muscle, as well as their boldness and plush fruit, flower and earth.

Aligned with the traditional Brovia style, Villero is particularly long-lived, focused and delineated. In 2012, Villero really stands out for its finesse, verve and tightly coiled structure.

Brovia's 2012 Villero is one of the most exciting and rigorous examples of the vintage. Barolos from the 2012 vintage can sometimes veer towards loosely knit structures or lavish fruit. You'll find something entirely different in the 2012 Villero. There's a deeply etched elegance and lift to the wine. All of this is backed by dark fruits, spice, herbs and dusty flower notes.

For many Piedmont fans, Villero is Brovia's top wine. There's a quiet, slow to unfold grandeur along with serious cut and muscle. The total package is really compelling, and on bold display in the 2012.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits

2012 Brovia Barolo Villero

 

Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media: "As always, the 2012 Barolo Villero is a bit more pointed and focused than the Rocche, with veins of tannin and acidity that give the wine much of its shape. Beautifully delineated throughout, the Villero is laced with deep layers of spice, dried flowers, mint and licorice. This is one of the more inward, introspective wine of the vintage, as it always is at Brovia. Today, the fruit lies in the background, while the wine's structural components are front and center. Readers should be prepared to give the Villero at least a few years in bottle."