This red wine is from Northern Piedmont, Alto Piemonte. I had a delightful bottle of the 2004 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Gattinara. It is 100% Nebbiolo. The long and short of it is the family that produces this wine has a long and storied history in the wine business which dates back to the 18th century, but they did not start producing wine until 1937. The wines from this particular estate were such a precious commodity in the States during the middle of the 20th century. People in the know knew this was a tried and true red wine that could be trusted to give copious amounts of pleasure. The family had some hard times and unfortunately a death in the family, Antonio Vallana. He passed away very young and was originally slated to take the lead at the winery. This impacted the wines in a bad way and for a couple decades the quality could not be relied upon. Now 2 young family members (Marina and Francis Fogarty-Vallana) have taken the reigns and are trying to recreate their yesteryear magic.
On the nose: Is this a Barolo? Taste it blind and I dare you to not think it’s a Barolo or Barbaresco. Dries the mouth a lot on approach, but you kind of get used to it so the rest isn’t as abrasive as the first sip. Needs some protein to go along with this, maybe a nice veal spiedini. This attacks the taste buds like Zinedine Zidane’s forehead to the chest of Marco Materazzi ala 2006 World Cup Final. Ouch! Lesson to be learned, don’t talk smack about a French guy’s sister.
Palate: Sunday gravy would be nice with this. Not much on the nose initially, sense of tightly wound tannins. Decanted and revisited 2 hours later. Now we are talking. Dried rose pedal, button mushroom and some fresh coco. I would take this over half the Nebbiolo based Italian wines out there that I have tasted in the last 2 years and it is probably half the price. Great value. All the stuffing here to last over a decade.
Rating Scale (out of 5 +):
+++½
Price: $22
"No Goal"
On the nose: Is this a Barolo? Taste it blind and I dare you to not think it’s a Barolo or Barbaresco. Dries the mouth a lot on approach, but you kind of get used to it so the rest isn’t as abrasive as the first sip. Needs some protein to go along with this, maybe a nice veal spiedini. This attacks the taste buds like Zinedine Zidane’s forehead to the chest of Marco Materazzi ala 2006 World Cup Final. Ouch! Lesson to be learned, don’t talk smack about a French guy’s sister.
Palate: Sunday gravy would be nice with this. Not much on the nose initially, sense of tightly wound tannins. Decanted and revisited 2 hours later. Now we are talking. Dried rose pedal, button mushroom and some fresh coco. I would take this over half the Nebbiolo based Italian wines out there that I have tasted in the last 2 years and it is probably half the price. Great value. All the stuffing here to last over a decade.
Rating Scale (out of 5 +):
+++½
Price: $22
"No Goal"
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