Nervi Conterno Gattinara 2020

I have visited Nervi several times over the years, but it was the visit just after Roberto Conterno acquired the estate that sticks in my mind most because even then, the vision for what would follow was evident. Since then, Conterno and his team have made a series of stellar wines. There are three Gattinaras in the range. The straight Gattinara is the most approachable of the wines and is therefore released a year earlier, although aging for all three wines is three years in wood. The two vineyard designates – Molsino and Valferrana – offer different shades of complexity, finesse and intensity, depending on the year. The Molsino is the first of the two single vineyards to ripen and can be a bigger wine, while the Valferrana ripens later because of its somewhat more sheltered position. All three were memorable.

Readers often ask if the Nervi wines are of comparable quality to the Barolos. I don’t think of wine as a competition. Some vintages may favor one appellation over another, the most striking example being 2018, when the Nervi wines were quite a bit more complex than the Conterno Barolos. Aside from those cases, the wines from the two estates can absolutely stand side by side. In fact, that is how I taste them every year. ANTONIO GALLONI

If Nervi wines were great before - and they most certainly were - it's almost implausible to think that Roberto Conterno has been able to take them to a new level since purchasing the estate a decade ago. A level which now puts them into the conversation as one of the greatest nebbiolo producers on the planet. The comparisons with Roberto's Giacomo Conterno Barolo estate are inevitable but for me, there's no comparing them. The expression is so different but no less compelling and who cares anyway; if as a wine lover you're into the pursuit of those wines that have an x-factor and transportative power, then these need to be on your list.

Conterno purchased Nervi (a similarly fabled producer in Gattinara) about a decade ago. Before that he has been consulting to the property for a group of enthusiasts who bought the property about 15 years earlier. During that tenure he fell in love with the place and the different quality of nebbiolo that came off these Alta Langhe vineyards. I emphasise again, Nervi was the great estate of the area and they have always made great wine but Conterno is a perfectionist, a man who hunts down tiniest details - details others would believe were not important - and in so doing he has taken these wines to a level that I frankly find, amazing. They have quickly become some of my favourite wines in Italy and the world.

The other day, I had a glass of the 2018 Molsino. Man, what a wine! I've not tasted the 2019 single vineyard wines but I've listed the reviews below and they are fabulous. The container arrived the other day and I was gifted a bottle of the 2020 Gattinara by the importer. It's another brilliant rendition of the estate blend; poised and ethereal, sweet red petals nuance the red fruit and savoury herbs. The longer it sat in the glass the better it got. Galloni actually dropped a review for it over the weekend, called it exquisite. No argument there!

As an aside, Conterno has built an amazing restaurant there and in design, ambition and quality of food, it follows that lifelong pursuit of perfection. If you're ever in the area then you should book a table.

Cheers

Michael

Roberto Conterno follows his 2018s with a set of 2019s that is equally compelling. The 2019s are perhaps a bit more austere and less forthcoming at this stage than the 2018s. That won't be an issue for readers who can exercise a bit of patience. The 2019s were vinified in wood uprights. Malolactic fermentations followed quickly, as they often do at Nervi-Conterno. The wines spent about 32 months in oak prior to being bottled. All three 2019s were bottled at the same time, but the crus see an extra year in bottle prior to being released. ANTONIO GALLONI

Nervi Conterno Gattinara 2020    SHELF PRICE: $235    YOUR PRICE: $205
SPECIAL SIX-PACK PRICE: $1194 ($199 PER BTL)
The 2020 Gattinara is elegant and lifted. Crushed red berry fruit, cinnamon and orange peel grace this ethereal, nuanced Gattinara. Bright saline notes and sweet red-toned fruit build into the long, persistent finish. Understated and silky, the 2020 is exquisite. All this needs is a few years to soften. ANTONIO GALLONI

Nervi Conterno Gattinara Valferrana 2019 SHELF PRICE:$440 YOUR PRICE: $376
A wine of soaring intensity, the 2019 Gattinara Valferrana opens with intensely floral aromatics that are immediately alluring. Bright red-fleshed fruit, chalk and mint lend notable inner sweetness. At times, the Valferrana is quite potent, in other moments it presents notable finesse. That counterpoint makes for an absolutely compelling Gattinara that readers will want in their cellars. (96) ANTONIO GALLONI

Nervi Conterno Gattinara Molsina 2019 SHELF PRICE: $440 YOUR PRICE: $376
The 2019 Gattinara Molsino is a dark, brooding wine. Smoke, incense, licorice and leather open in the glass, but only with great reluctance. A wine of tremendous persistence and presence, the Molsino is so impressive in 2019. It is also embryonic and in need of cellaring. The only question is how long. Time in the glass brings out the wine's natural resonance, offering a glimpse of what will come in time. (97) ANTONIO GALLONI