Fratelli Revello Barolo 2006

The 2006 Fratelli Revello Barolo is a clear stand out, even in a vintage as fine as 2006. It possesses exceptional harmony and balance, as well as a set of complex, nuanced flavors that lace their way through the wine from beginning to end. From the first glimpse of this deeply colored, ruby red Barolo, you are in for a treat. Revello’s 2006 Barolo offers up a pretty nose of pure, ripe red fruits, anise, and mint, along with the fresh scents of an awakening wood after spring rains. On the palate, the wine shows considerable depth, providing plenty of red fruit, spice, and pure woodland flavors to satisfy the senses. As good as all this is, it is the finish on the 2006 Revello Barolo that leaves the greatest impression; the wine’s floral tones re-emerge at the end just as the last sips of this graceful, impeccably balanced wine glide down the gullet. What sets this Barolo apart from its peers is that all its components are in total harmony from the first sip to the last. Yet, as with all Barolo, we suggest extended aeration for the 2006 Revello. It is charming and beautiful from the moment it is poured, but an hour or two resting in a decanter in a cool spot will more than reward the patient imbiber.

The Revello brothers’ 2006 Barolo epitomizes the supple, food friendly style of Barolo that flows from La Morra. It provides the ideal match for some of Northern Italy’s finest dishes. Tender morsels of pounded veal, sautéed with mushrooms in butter, wine, and savory herbs offer splendid companionship to this wine, especially when accompanied by a traditional Parmesan cheese risotto made from Arborio rice. Roast loin of pork, stuffed with a bread, onion, and herb farce provides another savory dish with which to savor the 2006 Revello Barolo. Rotisserie roasted chickens and marinated steaks and pork tenderloins offer tasty, uncomplicated accompaniments, too. And as Barolo is often the last wine served at a special meal, it provides one of the finest accompaniments to soft and hard Italian cheeses that follow the main course. Buon Appetito!

Since brothers Enzo and Carlo Revello took over their father’s La Morra estate in the early 1990s, Revello has been fashioning some of Barolo’s most compelling wines. With the assistance of Elio Altare, La Morra’s most renowned producer, the Revello brothers quickly transformed their family’s vineyards and began making quintessential Barolo in 1992 from their own vineyards. Revello, whose vineyards once belonged to the parish church, boasts several crus among its holdings including two of La Morra’s most legendary vineyards: Giachini and Rocche dell’Annunziata. In total, the Revello brothers cultivate about 25 acres in La Morra, of which less than half of that total is devoted to Barolo. The rest of the estate is committed to producing some of Piemonte’s most supple and ingratiating Barbera and Dolcetto. The Revello brothers’ Barolos have been likened to the finest wines of Burgundy’s legendary commune of Chambolle-Musigny. Although the comparison affords neither wine total justice, it is somewhat apt; the Revellos make supple, graceful, impeccably balanced wines that age beautifully in the bottle for a decade or more.