Nervi-Conterno Gattinara A three-vintage snapshot of one of Alto Piemonte’s historic estates 2015, 2016 & 2017.
An unique oportunity to taste the evolution of a great estate across three consecutive vintages (only 5 packs available)
Nervi is one of Gattinara’s historic producers, founded in 1906. Gattinara lies in Alto Piemonte, north of the Langhe, where Nebbiolo — traditionally known locally as Spanna — produces wines with a distinctly different personality from Barolo and Barbaresco: lifted aromatics, firm acidity, fine but persistent tannins, and a characteristic mineral and savoury character.
The estate's history took an important turn with Roberto Conterno of Giacomo Conterno, who became involved with Nervi before the acquisition was completed in 2018. These three vintages therefore sit at a fascinating point in the estate's story, immediately before the Nervi-Conterno partnership formally became the new ownership structure.
2015 Gattinara: expressive, beautifully perfumed wine, showing the classic Nebbiolo combination of red fruit, flowers, herbs and mineral notes.
It is the most immediately charming of the three, with attractive freshness and a silky texture, while retaining the acidity and tannin that give Gattinara its ability to develop in bottle.
2016, the benchmark: If there is one vintage in this trio that particularly deserves attention, it is 2016.
A highly successful vintage for Nebbiolo, 2016 produced a wine with greater depth and structure than the 2015, while retaining the precision and freshness that make great Gattinara so compelling.
The wine is still youthful, with the structure to reward further cellaring, but already offers the combination of red fruit, flowers, spice, tobacco and mineral complexity that makes mature Nebbiolo so rewarding.
2017 a warmer vintage: The resulting wine is richer and more generous than the 2016, but retains the freshness and savoury character expected from Gattinara.
Most intriguingly, Molsino and Valferana were not bottled separately in 2017. Fruit that would normally have contributed to those individual vineyard bottlings instead went into the regular Gattinara.
That makes the 2017 bottle particularly interesting in the context of this three-vintage collection: it gives you the opportunity to taste a Gattinara made with fruit from some of Nervi's most important vineyard sites.