Antoniolo Gattinara 2001
The Nebbiolo grape produces such interesting wines, one of the few that I find easily discernible. There is just something about the color, flavor, and character of Nebbiolo-based wines that consistently stands out. The difficulty is that the finest Nebbiolo wines are those made in Barolo and Barbaresco, which of course come with a price to match. And so during the last few months I’ve been seeking out and trying Nebbiolo wines from different appellations to get a sense of the both depth and value they offer, relative to their more high-profile brethren.
The list of DOCs producing wines from Nebbiolo is surprisingly long. Along with Barolo and Barbaresco there are three other DOCGs on the list: Gattinara, Ghemme, and Roero. The definitions of each are unique. Barolo and Barbaresco must both contain 100% Nebbiolo, Roero 95-98%, Gattinara 90%, and Ghemme 70%.While Barolo and Barbaresco are pretty common to find in shops, I’ve found the other three much more difficult to locate. And those bottles that I have found have been from a rather small number of producers.
There are also several DOCs in Piedmont that feature Nebbiolo in varying proportions. Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba must both contain 100% Nebbiolo, Carema and Albugnano 85%, Bramaterra 50-70%, Boca 45-70%, and Sizzano 40-60%. Of these, I’ve only ever seen Langhe Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo d’Alba, and Carema in shops.
This bottle from Antoniolo was the first Gattinara wine that I came across. I’d never heard of the producer and the label on the bottle was pretty stained and a bit mucked up, and so I was hesitant to try it. Nonetheless, my curiosity won the day, and we picked up a bottle from the 2001 vintage (there were also several bottles from the 2000 vintage). Upon returning home I looked up some info about the producer and was soon quite excited at finding this bottle.
Gattinara is a small zone located in northern Piedmont in the foothills of the Alps. Despite being located so far north, the zone has a favorable microclimate on account of being located between the Po River basin to the south and Lake Maggiore to the north. The result is a cooler climate and higher altitude than most of Piedmont that contributes a slightly different character to the Nebbiolo grapes grown there. The DOCG is also very small, producing only about 40,000 cases of wine a year, a minute amount relative to areas such as Barolo and Barbaresco.
Antoniolo was founded in 1948 by Mario Antoniolo and has been managed by members of the family ever since. According to the Gambero Rosso the quality of the wines has consistently increased year to year, as the viticulture and winemaking practices have been refined and improved. Perhaps the most notable aspect of their winemaking practices is the decision to use 100% Nebbiolo in making their Gattinaras, as opposed to blending in up to 10% of other grapes (as allowed by the DOCG regulations). They produce four Gattinaras, the blended offering (the one that we picked up) and three vineyard-specific bottlings: ‘Castelle’, ‘Osso San Grato’, and ‘San Francesco’. All three of these have been regular winners of the three glasses award from the Gambero Rosso.
This bottling is aged in medium-sized oak barrels for 24 months before being bottled and aged a further 12 months prior to release. The 2004s appear to be the most recent vintage that has been released.
I was instantly smitten upon seeing the wine in the glass. The color is a garnet red with rusty brown highlights, lightening to a brownish/amber at the edges, so common of Nebbiolo. The nose is rich with violets, plums, leather, and tobacco. The palate is lightly textured with soft tannins. Layers of black cherries and currants open up at the front of the palate, slowly mingling with a notable earthy minerality. On the long finish, a hint of acidity comes into the mix, accompanied by black cherries and a trace of the smoke that was notable in the nose.
A wonderful wine, elegant and very expressive, lots of flavors, and it really did speak of the Nebbiolo grape. I enjoyed this wine more than most of the Langhe Nebbiolos or Nebbiolo d’Albas that we’ve tried. I certainly think part of this owes to the extra few years in bottle. But I suspect that another element may well be the location of the appellation and the quality of Antoniolo’s wines. It would be wonderful to try some of their single-vineyard bottlings, or even other vintages of this same bottling.
Apparently Gattinara (and Ghemme too) wines do very well in hotter vintages, and so this would be a great wine to seek out in those years when Barolo and Barbaresco are adversely affected by the heat. As I mentioned, I’ve also seen the 2000 vintage of this same wine, and this was supposed to be a great vintage for Gattinara, so this may be a bottle to pick up and try.
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