Located in Castiglione Falletto, Cavallotto is one of Barolo’s most fabled estates, farming Nebbiolo since 1929 and bottling their own wine since 1948. They own one of Barolo’s few monopoles, Bricco Boschis. Bricco Boschis is an incredible vineyard site, a steep amphitheater with some rolling contours and spines intermixed, perfectly orientated. It was originally named Monte della Guardia, and belonged to the 18th century French-born Countess and philanthropist, Juliette Colbert, the last Marquis of Barolo. The Countess decided to leave her land and the estate to none other than her devoted vineyard manager, Giuseppe Boschis, whose namesake remains to this very day.
Giacomo Cavallotto purchased the Boschis estate in 1928. His grandchildren, Olivio & Gildo Cavallotto began vinifying the grapes of their estate, under the instruction and direction of their father and uncle. Their first bottling came in 1948 and, by 1970, they decided to make what was, at the time, a rather novel move by placing the name of not just the cru of Briccho Boschis on the label, but also their single vineyards of Vigna San Giuseppe (“Giuseppe’s Vineyard” named after their father), Punta Marcello (“Marcello’s Hilltop” named for their uncle), Colle Sudovest, and Vigna Cuculo. In 1989, the Cavallotto family widened their span of terroir-driven wines by purchasing the historic Vignolo cru, sitting adjacent to their home on Bricco Boschis, which had never before been bottled as a single vineyard.
Today, we find the 4th generation of Cavallottos at the helm: Olivio’s children, Alfio, Giuseppe, and Laura. Devoted to tending their land with the greatest care, all farming is done organically and the focus on expressing their wine’s sense of place continues with 100% estate owned and farmed fruit. The family has, through each generation since their patriarch Giacomo, stuck to the traditions of the region through the use of long macerations and aging in large, neutral cask. Fleshy rather than flashy, these wines seem to transport as through time capsules.
