Truly Great New Wines from Brovia
Except for a 2-year pause for the pandemic, I’ve visited Brovia every spring since 2003 (we were already selling the wines at Chambers Street). Being in a the-more-I-know-the-less-I-know frame of mind, I won't claim any special insights about Brovia (or much else), but it's a visit I particularly look forward to. I always admire and even love the wines, but the Brovia 2020s are so great that it was a new experience for me. There was some discussion about which vineyard we liked best; happily my traveling companions agreed that it was an exceptional group of wines. Hold my feet to the fire, I vote for Rocche, but that at the expense of a glorious Brea – Ca’ Mia. And Garblet was very fine - the best version I’ve ever tasted. Even the always-solid classic Barolo was amazing, as were the wines that aren’t made from Nebbiolo.
-Jamie Wolff
PS: A rambling word or three about prices. They’ve gone up. What hasn’t gone up in price? Actually, Brovia was underpriced for a long time. Now they are still very fair, considering their position as one of the handful of top producers in Barolo, where the quality of the Brovia wines competes with numerous more expensive bottles. And this is a topic that always brings to mind Burgundy, where we routinely encounter $100+ Village wines. I think of Brovia as being peers with, say, Cathiard, or Dujac, comparisons that makes Brovia seem pretty reasonable. I also know that the wines are out of reach for many of us, which is unfortunate, but one cannot reasonably begrudge the winemaker meeting supply and demand (and Brovia's Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera are also fantastic wines). I fervently hope that Barolo prices never get as crazy as Burgundy. At least in this case the Emperor is well-clothed!
