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Scarzello, Federico

One rarely hears of Scarzello, though they have been producing super wines for quite sometime. The lack of recognition is due more to the late releases that are typical here than any quality issues. Simply put, both the media and market move on too quickly to care about wines that should have been released two years ago. These are classic wines, beautifully rendered even if the plots in Sarmassa are scalding at times. While I have been impressed with Federico’s wines for more than a decade now, this set of wines are his best yet. The 2011 Barolo Merenda in particular is gorgeous! And making things even more complicated, it will be released before his very fine 2010!

2015 very good wine, but he's taking the barolo out of wood after 18 months, he feels the wines are maturing quickly, feels it's a vintage character, they will be fast maturing wines
In old cellar had no space to do blending with sufficient time before bottling for the wine to stabilize, now can do blending six months, first vinification was 2009, transferred the ageing wine in 2010 so that is really the beginning of the change in logistical work
Will release ten after 11
Bought new 30hl barrels from Austria and started using on the 15 vintage, instead slavonian oak

2015 Scarzello Langhe Nebbiolo 14%
Sweet on the nose with a hint of newer wood, very powdery floral notes with some vanilla which is subtle and does add nuance to the nose, Beyond the wood influence there's a lot to like here, dried orange, rose petal, strawberry, and incipient mushroom aromas. Lovely on entry focused, very juicy, and with high toned accents to the core of slightly wild and fairly intense cherry fruit with hints of strawberry,. The midpalate shows heavy soil driven minerality and a nice wash of evergreen that leads to a long bright finish. The wood influence fades fairly quickly on the nose but does lend a hint of sweetness and spice in the mouth. Tannins are very fine, finish shows more typical tar and menthol with decent length. 92pts

2015 Scarzello Barbera d'Alba Superiore 15%
50/50 Sarmassa/Paiagallo, 50% in Stockinger botte,  half new half old,
Dark and earthy on the nose with a bit of the raw wood embedded in rich black cherry fruit, fairly spicy on the nose. Pretty powerful but less massive than one might guess with lovely fruit in the mouth, good acid but not prominent. The oak here does gain prominence with air on the nose, though this remains very well behaved in the mouth. Texturally this shares a focus with the Langhe Nebbiolo, it's sweet and slightly chewy from the vintage but finishes with good thrust and focus. Holds its alcohol impressively well, you really don't get the alcohol here, though it does lends sweetness and a hint of warmth. Finishes well, with good length, but if this is not served at cellar temp it does come off as just a bit matte and blocky. 88pts

2011 Scarzello Barolo del Commune di Barolo 14.5%
Really intensely aromatic with huge fruit, burnished with roasted strawberry, roasted chestnut and date notes along spicy slavonian oak spice and flowers in alcohol. Soft and supple one entry, the alcohol is noticeable here but not intrusive. With a big mouth feel, incipient truffle flavors, lots of strawberry fruit, plenty of ripe tannins, and a nice evergreen wash over the palate, this is a gentle giant of a wine. Really a classic glass of Barolo, perhaps lacking a bit of snap and tension but that is the vintage. 91pts

2011 Barolo Sarmassa Vigna Merenda 14.5%
30-45 days of skin contact, some vintage are longer, sponti, no temperature control,
More floral and high toned on the nose,with a spicy character all laced with rosehips and dried orange peel layered over a slightly salty mineral note, with a touch of smoke and tobacco adding nuance. Really well balanced, round and supple, with sufficient acidity to lend this some tension in the mouth. Lovely inner mouth perfumes, all roses and hints of dates show that this is almost ready but needs two to three years and should have a full thirty years of life afterwards.  Tannins are very ripe, and this finishes with some spice on the palate, good length, and great integration. There's a softness here that is deceptive, the scale of the wine starts out large and ends moderately small with a gently sweet cast to the fruit’s delicate persistence. 93pts

2010 Barolo Sarmassa Vigna Merenda almost 15%
A much firmer nose than with the 2011, more savory and soil driven with a hint of iodine, lots of chalky minerality, antiseptic. Served at cellar temp this comes off as a very poised wine, with really lovely purity of fruit in the mouth. Suspended from a firm but lacy structure that lends this lovely texture and a real transparency here. Gains some braised herb notes on the nose with air, incipient tobacco aromas emerge as well and on the palate there's really super ripeness here, layered, with later arriving cherry and wild strawberry fruit with a noticeable hint of alcohol on the long finale. This needs time but it is showing beautifully detailed fruit already with just gorgeous tannin structure. 93pts

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