A PRIMA California exclusive!

The Capalot MGA is (arguably) the premier site for Nebbiolo for Barolo on the northern Santa Maria side of La Morra. If you’ve visited the region, I’m sure you’ve passed it. It’s that beautiful sweep of old vineyard that sits on either side of the road up to La Morra from the hamlet of Santa Maria, just beyond the giant red bench. Just before the entrance to Eramo Grasparina on the righthand side of the road, you’re now looking right into the parcel owned by the Oddero family. It’s been a major part of their wines since 2001 and, along with the Bricco Chiesa MGA next to the winery, the anchor of the family’s iconic Barolo Classico. 

2021 marked the 20th harvest of that vineyard for the family, and a particularly auspicious one at that. So good was fruit they harvested that October, winemakers Mariacristina Oddero and Luca Veglio felt the best lots of oldest fruit deserved to be appreciated on its own, a special one-off cuvée celebrating 20 magnificent years. And it has proven, from Day One in the cellar, to be an excellent standalone wine. So good, in fact, the Odderos decided to bottle it only in magnums, the optimal size for long-term cellaring of Barolo. 

It is, indeed, magnificent: A stunning rendition of Capalot and a profound expression of Santa Maria Barolo as a whole. Even though it’s still quite primary, the dark, dusky 2021 Capalot already shows the balsam-cedar notes that are hallmarks of the site, as well as a nicely defined layer of richly textured plummy Amarena cherry flesh. Rose petal, star anise, white pepper, road tar and espresso coffee also emerge with air. Like all wines made at Oddero, though, there’s a gravitas to the wine, a regal sort of austerity that will certainly require time in your cellar to reveal all the class and elegance this amazing achievement will one day offer. 

We’re receiving 18 of the 1,500 magnums made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Wine Advocate, 96 points: Offering hints of licorice, cola or sambuca at the top, the Oddero 2021 Barolo Capalot reveals a tight and vertical delivery that eventually relaxes to show dark fruit and crushed flowers. Capalot is a site in La Morra, and this wine is produced in magnums only (with 1,500 made). It offers a terrific sense of energy and dimension over a fine, taut texture. I could not find a US retail price for these magnums.

Kerin O'Keefe, 95 points: The Oddero 2021 Capalot, an MGA in La Morra, is an intense beauty, with beguiling aromas of rose, violet, dark exotic spice, camphor and ripe black-skinned berry. Reflecting the nose, the compelling, full-bodied palate offers ripe Marasca cherry, cranberry compote, star anise and mentholated notes accompanied by a backbone of close-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it energized. Drink 2031–2041.

Vinous, 94 points: The 2021 Barolo Capalot is a new wine in this range. It emerges from a parcel that the Oddero family purchased in the 1990s in two sections and previously used in their straight Barolo (which still utilizes some of this fruit). A deep, vertically structured wine, the 2021 possesses notable textural richness to match its dark flavor. This is an especially potent, deeply-colored wine from La Morra's Santa Maria district. There's gorgeous palate presence and character here. This is a very serious debut. I won't be surprised if future vintages are even better. (Drink between 2027-2041)