Azienda Agricola Brovia
Villero Barolo Nebbiolo
Barolo, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2016 Villero pours a bright garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of Morello cherry, raspberry, fresh roses, tar, orange curaçao, talcum powder, dried green herbs, and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly savory. Villero is one of those MGA‘s that will show well young and this was no exception. While other 2016’s might still be locked down, this was full of pleasure. With this much balance, there’s a long life yet ahead. Drink now through 2066+.
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2016 Villero pours a bright garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of Morello cherry, raspberry, fresh roses, tar, orange curaçao, talcum powder, dried green herbs, and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly savory. Villero is one of those MGA‘s that will show well young and this was no exception. While other 2016’s might still be locked down, this was full of pleasure. With this much balance, there’s a long life yet ahead. Drink now through 2066+.
Apr 25th, 2026
Day two with the 2016 Brovia Barolo Villero, and this was frustrating in exactly the way certain 2016s can be frustrating. Brovia Villero, for me, is one of the great wines of Langhe. The material here was obvious. The site nobility was obvious. But at 14.5%, this bottle leaned too far into the heat side of the vintage for my taste. That is the 2016 crapshoot in a nutshell. The producers who mastered the year made some of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. The producers who let the vintage lead made wines that feel more dominated by the year than by the site. This landed in the second camp. Beautiful raw material, absolutely, but the heat kept stepping in front of the vineyard. And the cruel part is that maybe you do not get that level of material without the heat. So there is no clean complaint here. Just a tradeoff I felt in every glass.
Day two with the 2016 Brovia Barolo Villero, and this was frustrating in exactly the way certain 2016s can be frustrating. Brovia Villero, for me, is one of the great wines of Langhe. The material here was obvious. The site nobility was obvious. But at 14.5%, this bottle leaned too far into the heat side of the vintage for my taste. That is the 2016 crapshoot in a nutshell. The producers who mastered the year made some of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. The producers who let the vintage lead made wines that feel more dominated by the year than by the site. This landed in the second camp. Beautiful raw material, absolutely, but the heat kept stepping in front of the vineyard. And the cruel part is that maybe you do not get that level of material without the heat. So there is no clean complaint here. Just a tradeoff I felt in every glass.
Apr 4th, 2026