2017 Nervi Gattinara

The Conterno Nervi 2017 Gattinara sources its fruit from the volcanic soils of various vineyard sites, including Molsino, Valferana, Garavogloe and Casacce. These sites sit at various elevations in the small valley of hills that surround the town of Gattinara near the Sesia River in an area of beautifully dramatic topography. But these hills also trap the rain, and abundant precipitation (thankfully, no frost or hail, though) was an issue here in Alto Piemonte, Roberto Conterno tells me, more so than in the Langhe that generally saw a hot and dry summer. He did not make the two cru expression in 2017, and all the fruit from those sites ended up in this bottling (or was otherwise sold off). Despite this prelude, I found this wine to be stable and saturated, both in terms of aromatic character and flavor. It shows dark currant and wild plum, with hints of dusty earth, grilled herb and cola. This harvest predates Roberto Conterno's acquisition of Nervi; however, he had played a background role at this historic winery for some years by this point. From that point of view, you start to see the meticulous work to achieve freshness and precision with this Nebbiolo-based wine.