The Paolo Scavino Barolo DOCG has been PRIMA’s go-to blended Barolo ‘Normale’ (now we call it Classico!) for nearly four decades.  It was a fixture by-the-glass in our restaurant and a fixture in your home cellars as well as its price-quality-drinkability ratio is simply off the charts.  In fact, the 2019 version of this wine was so good and such a value, it was PRIMA’s 2023 Wine of the Year!  Will this delightful 2020 be on the list for 2024?  We imagine so.  Coming from seven different crus the Scavinos farm but don’t bottle separately, it represents a who’s-who of top Barolo vineyards: the Rocche Moriondino, Vignolo and Pernanno vineyards in Castiglione Falletto, the Albarella, Terlo and Vignane vineyards in Barolo, the San Bernardo and Cerretta vineyards in Serralunga and Bussia in Monforte d’Alba.  The harvest from each individual cru is painstakingly fermented separately and blended for compatibility and style only after 10 months in small French oak barrels. The cuvee is then married for an additional year in large casks before being bottled.  This is the traditional Barolo blenders art at its highest level.  The Scavinos’ wines are always known for their completeness, polish, aromatic complexity and sumptuous appeal, and that pretty much describes this dark, heady, deeply flavored and thoroughly charming 2020.  The harvest is making a ton of friends of everyone who tastes the wines and from the simplest terroirs to the most acclaimed with balanced, classically-styled wines across the board.  We’re pretty sure this will go down as one of the best Scavino Barolo Classicos ever for current and mid-term enjoyment. Drink now for the hedonism of its lovely fruit or keep alongside some of your precious Scavino crus and watch how well this rich, truffle-y masterpiece ages. And the price! Have I mentioned the price?  It’s on sale for less than a lot of the Langhe Nebbiolo we’re seeing these days.  A case would not be too much….

James Suckling: A beautiful Barolo here with a touch of dried spices to the grapefruit citrus, minerals, camphor and dried flowers. Melted, chalky tannins on the palate with medium to full body and a long, mineral-driven finish. Lots of clarity and finesse here. Drink or hold. 94 points

Wine Advocate: The Paolo Scavino 2020 Barolo (with Enrico Scavino's signature on the front of the bottle) has a handful of savory herbs, barbecue rub, ripe plum, sweet cherry and dried currant. There are notes of aniseed, but otherwise, the wine is quite broad-brushed, thick or husky on the mid-palate. It ends with balanced freshness. The blend borrows fruit from Rocche Moriondino, Vignolo, Pernanno, Terlo, Albarella, Vignane, San Bernardo, Cerretta and Bussia Vigna Fantini. It ages in oak casks for 22 months, and 50,000 bottles were made. 92 points

Wine Enthusiast: A truly inspiring Barolo! Opening with aromas of macerated Bing cherries kissed with clove and anise that then evolves into notes of wild herbs and earth. The elegant palate is open and giving with ample fruit at its center while retaining more of its soul for a few years in the cellar. Drink now–2040. Cellar Selection. 92 points