Paolo Scavino

History

Paolo Scavino founded the estate in Castiglione Falletto, one of the eleven communes entitled to the Barolo designation and historically one of its most prestigious. The domaine passed to his daughter Enrica Scavino, who has guided it through the modern era alongside her sister Elisa and their father's enduring influence on house style. The estate rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, a period when Barolo was fracturing between traditionalists and modernists. Scavino aligned broadly with the modernist camp, adopting shorter macerations and small French oak, though the house has never been doctrinaire about it. Over the decades the Scavinos have assembled holdings across multiple Barolo crus, turning what began as a single-commune estate into one of the more geographically diverse producers in the appellation.

Vineyards

The estate's most celebrated holding is Bric dël Fiasc, a south-to-southwest facing hillside in Castiglione Falletto with the compact Helvetian soils typical of that commune: compact Tortonian marls and calcareous clays that yield firm, structured Nebbiolo. Prapò, situated in Serralunga d'Alba, sits on the older, harder Helvetian soils of that township, producing wines with notably tighter structure and longer aging requirements than the Castiglione fruit. Beyond these two flagship sites the Scavinos farm additional parcels across the Langhe, which supply Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, and the white grapes that go into the Langhe Bianco Sorriso. Specific farming certification details are not widely documented, and no claim to organic or biodynamic status is made publicly.

Winemaking

Scavino's cellar approach leans toward the modernist tradition established in the 1980s: relatively controlled fermentations, shorter skin contact compared to classical Barolo producers, and aging in French oak barriques alongside larger casks, depending on the wine. The Barolo crus, Bric dël Fiasc and Prapò in particular, spend meaningful time in wood before release and are built for medium-term cellaring rather than immediate approachability. The Barbera d'Alba Affinato in Carati ("aged in small barrels") signals the same French oak treatment applied to the estate's Barbera, giving it more weight and aromatic complexity than the standard bottling. The varietal wines, Dolcetto d'Alba and the standard Barbera d'Alba, are made in a more straightforward style intended for earlier drinking. The Langhe Bianco Sorriso represents a departure from the estate's red-wine identity; the blend and varieties can shift by vintage but generally points toward a fresh, aromatic white for current consumption. Native yeast use and filtration practices are not specifically documented in public sources.