Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera DOCG 2019
(Piedmont, Italy) - [JD 96+] [JS 96] [WA 96] [WS 95] [DM 95] [VM 93]

Winery Notes:

Barolo Ravera is produced with the grapes of the most important cru in Novello, a guarantee of fine aromas, sapid flavor, and great complexity. The mainly calcareous soil of this historical vineyard adds elegance and structure to the wine, making it ideal for aging. Only a few great wines possess its capacity to develop successfully over the years.

Austere and severe in its early years, Barolo Ravera loses none of its typicality with the passing of time; on the contrary, it improves. Careful selection in the vineyard and a relatively long fermentation help to heighten the characteristics of the grapes, which fully express themselves after aging in the bottle. A unique testimonial for a prestigious terroir, this wine takes the typicality of the Langhe hills to the top in terms of quality.

Tasting Notes

Brilliant garnet-red in color with orange highlights. Firm, elegant and potent on the nose, it has scents of dog-rose, mint and tobacco, scents that meld over the course of time into spice, coffee, licorice, truffle, leather and minerals. A full-bodied, rounded bouquet of great structure and balance, redolent of plum jam and withered brambles. The persistent chocolatey aftertaste is harmonious and enticing. Over the years, it gradually refines its characteristics to achieve classic elegance and composure.

Ratings & Reviews

96+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
“The 2019 Barolo Ravera is beautiful with floral and spice perfume and offers a Burgundian aesthetic, with notes of apricot and wet stone. It is medium-bodied, highly refined, and pure, with complexity that continues to evolve in the glass, revealing notes of rhubarb, apricot, wild raspberry, and dusty earth. A beautiful and expressive wine with a lot of grace, it is going to drink well at a lot of stages, so don't worry about whether to drink it soon or forget about it in the cellar over the next two decades.” (May 2023)

96 Points -James Suckling:
“Tannins are sheer and long with a steely and muscular nature, yet they are nicely integrated. Full and toned. This is a wine for the cellar yet it already shows pretty floral and blue fruit character. Drink after 2029.” (Jun 2023)

96 Points - Wine Advocate:
“This wine opens a window on one of the best cru sites in the appellation—the Ravera Vineyard on the Novello side, where steep hills descend down from a castle perched atop a beautiful panorama. From this vantage point, you look up at Novello and the Elvio Cogno winery built midway up the incline. The 2019 Barolo Ravera benefits from this special place and represents a wider net of fruit selected from across the estate vineyard. As a result, Ravera often shows extra versatility and depth. The 2019 vintage offers wild berry, blackcurrant, tart fruit, iodine and campfire ash. This is on the darker and more concentrated side of the Barolo spectrum. 15,000 bottles were released.” – Monica Larner (Aug 2023)

95 Points - Wine Spectator:
“There’s a lot going on in this complex red, which is loaded with cherry, strawberry, earth, spice and iron flavors, revealing hints of menthol and tobacco. Harmonious, with a long, resonant finish that echoes both the fruit and savory notes. Best from 2026 through 2045. 625 cases made, 365 cases imported.” – BS (web only 2023)

95 Points - Decanter Magazine:
“I must admit I'm not a fan of Ravera, but Elvio Cogno has produced a gorgeous Barolo here in 2019. The nose is an intoxicating palette of restrained orange peel essential oils, peach kernel, and sweet violet, with some leafiness and cinnamon candy. This sweetness of aromas is wrapped up in youthful and grainy yet velvety and elegant tannins, allied to the crisp if not zesty acidity of Ravera. An extracted wine, where the power is underlined by its freshness, with a super-precise finish which suggests: ‘cellar me!’” – Aldo Fiordelli (Jan 2023)

93 Points - Vinous Media:
“The 2019 Barolo Ravera marries finesse with the energy that is typical of all the wines from this part of the appellation. Tasted next to the 2018, it possesses gorgeous inner sweetness and captivating perfume to match its mid-weight personality. Hard candy, blood orange, mint, iron, spice and dried flowers all open in the glass. Here too, the tannins are admirably balanced for a young Ravera Barolo.” – Antonio Galloni (Jan 2023)