Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet red color. On the nose, delicate scents of violets and cherries with traces of black pepper. Rich and refined on the palate, filled with red fruit, spice, raisins and smooth tannins; long-lasting and juicy finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A multilayered wine with exquisite yet austere aromas of dried cherries, red currants, earth, licorice, dried flowers, meat and tar. Full-bodied, it shows elegant tannins despite its muscular structure, with refreshing, brilliant acidity and a dense, savory, smoky finish.
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Vinous
The 2019 Gattinara Riserva is a super-classic wine. It offers a fine mix of soaring aromatics, deep fruit and classically-leaning structure. Readers should plan on giving this a few years in bottle. Dried red cherry fruit, orange peel, mint and rose petal add to the wine's super-classic profile.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, mellow and infused with cherry, plum, iron, earth and underbrush aromas and flavors, this solid red is complex. The balance tips toward the lightly astringent tannins, yet they are offset by ripe fruit and fine balance overall. Best from 2026 through 2040. 1,175 cases made, 205 cases imported.
Attracting the most glory, prestige and fame to the Piedmont region, Nebbiolo in all of its expressions—Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero, Ghemme and Gattinara—creates a complex wine, truly unique for its delicate qualities combined with strength and a great potential to improve over time.
But Nebbiolo isn’t all there is to red wine from Piedmont! Barbera is the most planted variety and historically most popular as a dependable, food-friendly, everyday wine.
Beyond these two, a surprising number of red varieties call Piedmont their home. Worth a try include Dolcetto for its bold concentration and aromas of spice cake. Other grapes to investigate include Freisa, Croatina, Brachetto, Grignolino and Pelaverga.