I recently purchased this from auction as I have been a fan of this producer for many years. This presents a slight mystery. I am aware of only one Scarzello, who is located in the town of Barolo and bottles estate grapes from there. This sources says that Scarzello only started bottling their own wines in 1978 (this bottle).
In the years following the Second World War, the Scarzello family made wines that they sold primarily in bulk. But that changed with the extraordinary 1978 vintage in the Langhe when they decided to first bottle and sell their Nebbiolo grapes as Barolo.
However, a Berserker posted a TN on a 1961 Scarzello Barolo in 2019.
Primarily in bulk but with a bit in 1961? I don’t know the answer to this. Regardless, I double decanted this for about six hours before dinner. The initial sip was not very promising as it seems very close to the edge of the cliff. Six hours later, it has more to offer. The color is very much on the orange/brown side. The nose started with that the "book store’ warmth and mustiness to it. A bit of swirling evoked mushroom harvesting with smells of fungi, wet humus, and rotting tree bark. There is also a surprising sweetness of dark fruits. The palate shows a lingering hint of sweet dark cherries, but also a certain citrus quality like one gets from a slightly overripe orange. This is very soft in the mouth and almost no tannins left but still quite a bit of acidity. So here is a case of a 1978 with the fruit outlasting the tannins. Initially, I really thought this might be a bit past the peak of the hill, but it keeps getting tastier and tastier. I love when aged Nebbiolo goes through that magical transformation and turns a potential disappointment into something special. That said, I have one more bottle and don’t plan on holding it past this winter.
I love these old school labels.
