Scavino Bric del Fiasc 1989
This was on its last legs, barely drinkable. The color was more brown than red, the nose desiccated shoe polish and rotting leaves. There was a hint of pruniness on the palate which quickly disappeared as the uglies on the nose overtook the fruit. Sad. 75
Sandrone Le Vigne 1997
A return to a favorite. On paper, I should not love this the way I do. A hot vintage, an excellent if modernist winemaker. And yet…and yet this is archetypal Barolo with a bit of extra fruit. Not enough to get in the way, but an added pleasure as I taste through the roses, tar and earth. Fresh as a daisy, still not shedding much of its primary topcoat. Maybe a little more tertiary flavors since I last tasted it, but subtle and frankly only noticeable because I started looking. The finish is long and this is where the fruit is most apparent, interspersing in little chunks. A lovely Barolo in top form. 96
Was Scavino a modernist in 1989? Honest question.
I had a 2001 Bric del Fiasc a few weeks ago and it was superb, not showing any signs of being “modern,” but probably the age was sufficient to even out any higher ripeness or barrique character?
Yes. He was just getting his staves in order. Unfortunately, he was touted by the great RMP of flawless palate fame and I bought 3 of his 1990 Bric del Fiasc…fiasco is right, and about how Mark described his 89.
Later releases of Scavino have been really good.
Funny, those were my first guesses for which producer’s would be the superb wine and which would be the horrid one.
Every aged Sandrone I’ve had has been excellent (admittedly other will have way more experience than I have). Modernist? Perhaps. But a superb producer with a great track record. I always have my eye out for them.
Just looked at the Scavino 1989 at auction. Close to $200. Fortunately my last bottle, bought on release and kept in temperature controlled cellar. As good as it probably gets.
Luckily this was my last bottle.
Agreed with comments how good aged Sandrone can be. But this Le Vigne has always been my favorite closely followed by the more highly rated 1996 Boschis.
Scavino seems to have at least temporarily reconsidered the modernist leanings around 2000 - I’ve had similar experiences.
I still have a few bottles of this in the cellar - the last time I tried it according to my CT notes was 2017, and while I didn’t like it as much as the '98 Giacosa Falletto I drank along side of it, given how the wine showed that night, I’m kind of surprised it would be dead at this point. FWIW, a '93 Bric del Fiasc I had in April of 2020 drank great. At any rate, I’ll stand up a bottle when I find one and take a look at it over the Summer.
Funny how Sandrone despite being modern can appeal to classical palates. I’ve never really perceived significant oak in them so that’s a start…
I think '98 or '99 was the high water mark for Scavino in terms of modern techniques. On a visit in 2002, Enrica said that her father was buying botte and reducing the use of barriques. The fermentation times are now very classical, too. Skurnik’s website gives details of the swings toward modernism and back in the winemaking:
Winemaking at the estate has evolved over time—but the one constant, even from the days of Enrica and Elisa’s grandfather, was hygiene: the cleanliness of the winery and health of the grapes remain paramount. Technology has had its influence: Enrico recalls working the vineyards with oxen and horses, and said of the purchase of his first tractor “I couldn’t have been happier if my father had gifted me a Ferrari!” > In 1993, rotofermentors arrived at the estate, and between 1996-1999, Slavonian casks were replaced with French oak—but barriques here were always and only used for the first 10 months of aging to help fix color before the wines were transferred to larger oak botti. The percentage of new oak has been much reduced from a height of 30% from the 1990s to 2004, to only 20% new from 2004 – 2008, 17% new in 2011 & 2012, and for the 2015 harvest they have even reduced to a further 14% new. > …
… Native yeasts, temperature control during fermentation, 8 – 12 days maceration, 20 – 30 days of alcoholic fermentation. … Aging 10 months in neutral French oak barrels, then 12 months in large casks, 10 months in stainless steel, 10 months in bottle before sale.
Mark’s experience with the '89 sounds weird, since that is a famously tannic, slow-developing vintage.
Sandrone never went full-on modern in the way many of his neighbors along the La Morra-Castiglione border did (e.g., rotofermenters, short fermentations, all-barrique aging). He used 500 liter tonneaux, not 225 liter barriques, and has traditional, longish fermentations:
Alcoholic fermentation begins about 24-36 hours later from native yeasts. A gentle maceration takes place in upright open-top steel tanks for the first 7-18 days of alcoholic fermentation. Immediately after alcoholic fermentation, which takes about 28 days, malolactic fermentation takes place in 500-liter French oak casks. The wine is aged in these casks (25% new) for 24 months…
I’m not sure – was Sandrone ever represented by Marco de Grazia, who drove so much of the change in winemaking in the late 80s and early 90s?
I still have a couple of the '90s. Have you tried one recently?
I had high hopes of this, as I agree 1989 was indeed a special vintage in Piedmont.
But I was dining with another wine writer, and we gave it a lot of time in the hope of it showing something other than dankness but it got worse as the evening progressed.
Have you had other bottles?
The CellarTracker scores over the past five years are quite generous (low to mid-90s), but a lot of the comments describe the wine as a bit disappointing and/or past its prime.
No, last time around 2006 or so.
The CellarTracker notes for the '90 are more positive than those for the '89, though the average scores are similar. Some of the notes on the '90 do refer to it being a bit pruny and/or overripe, though. Not such a surprise in that vintage.
I’d always figured that the '89 vintage might ultimately win out over the winemaking at the modernist cantinas, but perhaps not in Scavino’s case.
This shows the limitations of these overly simple classifications. I adore Sandrone even though I mostly drink the ‘classical’ side of things. However this tarring with the ‘modern’ brush has meant that these wines haven’t escalated in price nearly as much as some other producers.
I think this is the first time I tried this.
Fashions change. I am not a longtime buyer of Barolo or Barbaresco, having only started buying it in any kind of volume about ten years ago, but weren’t the modernists initially able to get higher prices, thanks to Parker points?
From drinking older bottles with more experienced Nebbiolo heads, and reading notes from NYC gatherings, my suspicion is that the oak influence eventually subsides enough that Nebbiolo’s inherent qualities render the difference pretty minimal. Too much character to be kept down.