The Oddero family has been making wine in the Langhe since the 1800s and was among the first to bottle and commercialize Barolo. In 2006, brothers Giacomo and Luigi amicably split their storied estate. Luigi retained 32 hectares of prime vineyard land across La Morra, Castiglione Falletto, and Serralunga d’Alba, founding Figli Luigi Oddero in the hamlet of Santa Maria di La Morra. After Luigi’s passing in 2009, his widow Lena and their children Maria and Giovanni carried the project forward with the help of winemaker Francesco Versio, a protégé of legendary Bruno Giacosa cellarmaster Dante Scaglione. The winemaking remains deeply traditional: spontaneous fermentation in cement, long maceration, and aging in large neutral oak botti. The vineyards have been certified organic since 2014.

Rocche Rivera comes from a 3-hectare, south-facing parcel within the Scarrone cru in Castiglione Falletto, at roughly 350 meters elevation in the shadow of the commune’s medieval castle walls. The soils are grey-bluish Helvetian-era marl with clay and sand, producing structured, age-worthy Barolos reminiscent of Serralunga, but with the slightly rounder, more perfumed quality Castiglione Falletto is known for. The wine sees 36 months in medium-to-large oak barrels followed by 24 months of bottle aging before release.

2004 is widely regarded as one of the great Barolo vintages of the modern era, with a long, cool growing season and a late harvest. Over twenty years on, the best 2004s are just now showing the full scope of what they were built to become. This Rocche Rivera is a window into mature, traditional Barolo at its most compelling. The bouquet has deepened into white truffle, dried rose, sandalwood, and sweet pipe tobacco, with a fading edge of cherry that has turned leathery and complex. A very special bottle. Drink now through the early 2030s.