Nervi Conterno Gattinara Vigna Molsino 2020

Our favorite Nebbiolo cousin to Barolo and Barbaresco is back... Gattinara! This DOCG in Northern Piemonte develops some wickedly bright and lifted Nebbiolo wines, and this 98-POINT 2020 vintage is grown in Nervi Conterno’s Molsino estate vineyard at 400 meters elevation, granting it tremendous drive and a rich, gorgeously resonant finish that utterly captivates. An Italian wine collector’s MUST have! 

While lesser known here in the States than its Piemonte regional counterparts of Barolo and Barbaresco, Gattinara is sort of like the really cool, understated cousin, producing generous Nebbiolo wines grown among iron-rich volcanic soils that generously exude the striking minerals from their place of origin. This 2020 Gattinara Vigna Molsino comes from the high-elevation Molsino cru, where the sunshine warms the vines throughout much of the day and mineral-rich, iron-tinged earth produces a wine with remarkable lift, tension, and precision.

Founded in 1906 by Luigi Nervi in the heart of Gattinara – the historic Northern Piemonte appellation cradled by alpine foothills – Nervi-Conterno happens to be the longest-standing winery in the Gattinara DOCG. Its vineyards trace their roots deep into volcanic soils, giving the wines a tensile elegance that expresses stony minerality and mountain air. When Roberto Conterno – already revered for his stewardship of Giacomo Conterno – took the reins in 2018, it felt like a homecoming, uniting two pillars of Piemontese tradition.

“The Conterno Nervi 2020 Gattinara Vigna Molsino is Barolo-like in character, says vintner Roberto Conterno, although Gattinara tends to be a little warmer throughout the year compared to Barolo, thus rendering a more generous and immediate side of Nebbiolo.” –Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 95 points

In the glass, the wine offers up fragrant aromas of dark cherry and plum, accentuated by sage and tobacco leaf that give it a breathy herbal edge. Some dried lavender, dark spices, crushed gravel, fresh leather, and rain-dampened earth offer up a savory softness to balance the ripe, big fruit, and it’s clear after just a few sips that this is simply a wondrous effort. Collectible, age-worthy, and timeless, with bright acidity and a mineral finish that make it all-around captivating. Get at least one to enjoy now, and a bottle or two more to experience its magnificent evolution to come.

PAIRING IDEAS: Bubbly, charred pizza is a must, topped with spicy soppressata, black olives, mushrooms, and peppers. Holy flavor bomb.