Azelia Barolo, Bricco Fiasco, Castiglione Falletto

Bricco Fiasco occupies a special hilltop site that has been prized for its ripening qualities for centuries. Lorenzo Scavino replanted Nebbiolo here in the 1940s when Barolos were traditionally made in a cuvée style—fruit from various vineyards was combined and vinified together. Over the next three decades, Lorenzo and his son Luigi observed that Bricco Fiasco was producing such magnificent fruit, they decided to vinify and bottle it separately in 1978, making it one of the early single vineyard Barolos. The vineyard name is as rich with lore as the site itself. “Fiasco” means “flask”, which alludes to both the vineyard’s bowl shape reminiscent of an Italian wine bottle and the flasks of water vineyard crews drank during hot, sunny work days on the “bricco,” or top of the hill. The white calcareous soil gives the wine an elegant profile with sweet and silky tannins; the old vines produce concentrated fruit with charming floral, berry, and sweet spice aromas. Today an original 100-year old trellised vine, a relic of its long legacy, marks the site.

Varietals: 100% Nebbiolo

Vineyard: Bricco Fiasco; 285m elevation; southern exposure; white calcerous soils; average vine age 85 years

Farming: Organic

Vinification: Hand-picked, fermented in vertical stainless steel tanks with native yeasts, macerated with submerged cap for 55/60 days, racked by gravity, no fining or filtering

Aging: 24 months in large oak casks