Brovia Barolo Villero 2021

Brovia is a long-standing Castiglione Falletto estate in Piedmont, farming the Villero cru organically. Villero sits on the calcareous Sant'Agata marls of the central Barolo zone, soils that give Nebbiolo its perfume, high acidity and powerful but fine tannins. Nebbiolo is a late-ripening grape that needs these well-exposed limestone-clay slopes to ripen fully while holding freshness. The wine ages for 24 months in large Slavonian oak casks, where the low surface-to-volume ratio means slow, gentle oxygen exchange that resolves the firm tannins and builds complexity without adding oak flavour, followed by 24 months in bottle to integrate. Expect a pale garnet colour, a classic nose of red cherry, dried rose, tar, leather and dried herbs, and a structured palate with high acidity, firm but fine tannins and a long, savoury finish. This is a traditional Barolo built for the cellar and the table. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour or more ahead, or hold it several years. Made for rich, slow-cooked dishes.