WTN: Nervi Gattinara 2001 and supermarket wines

(reposted from Diverse Italy)
Went to a mall, something I loathe doing, in the what the locals call "the hinterland" of Milan (basically the suburbs) to get my Apple computer fixed. I found out I had to make a goshdarned appointment. So I took a stroll in the mall and found a giant supermarket - and of course supermarkets have wine sections so that is where I ended up going. Wow, gotta love a country where the most expensive wine in the supermarket is 15 Euros! Well, that's good and bad, there's a ton of swill there, but the selection is quite large. I bought several wines described below.

Gattinara 2001, Nervi
Can't beat a fine nebbiolo, already aged for you, at Euro 15.16
Very tasty, elegant, pure. Good nebbiolo nose. Classic translucent color. I like these northern piemonte nebbiolos cause they don't have that pasty, overweight quality of most Barolos. Not that this didn't have dusty tannins. It had a ton. I wish I could travel to the future and see what this wine would be like in 10 years at 20 yrs. old. I would be very curious, cause I don't think anybody knows for sure how wine evolves, despite all the predictions. Overall, a good wine, not a great wine. "Needs more time" as everybody says, although I don't know where that time will take it. Tasted over two days, tannins remained, no oxidation. I will buy more (at this price, why not?) and age it for ten years and then I will invite everybody from WLDG to come and taste for themselves.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Nicosia, Sicily
I think this was 2008. I'm not sure and the empty bottle was thrown out. I took no notes. This was a whopping Euro 5.69. Delicious stuff. Aromatic, round, full and elegant. Not a "serious" wine, but it was damn tasty, perfumed and pleasant. Great bargain as an everyday wine.

"BUIO" 2007, Carignano del Sulcis, Mesa
This wine was Euro 9.50. "Buio" means dark. The wine was disappointing. Not horrible, just too oily and sweet for me. Others will probably enjoy it. I needed a little more structure. The nose is herbaceous and roasted, not bad. The mouth is like a pastry. The "poetic" blurb on the back-label is quite funny, I'll try to translate: "the color of fire and black grapes, austere silence of stone, aroma of warm wind from the south, reflections of primitive strength simple and vigorous like a handshake."

Dolcetto D'Alba Vigneto Cotta' 2009, Cantina Parroco di Neive (Azienda San Michele), Piemonte
I was curious to try this cause its a 2009. Considering it's only February this is a young as heck wine and must have been bottled very recently.
Good stuff. Good bargain at Euro 6.89. Round in the mouth with good acidity, ripe, good body. Typical Dolcetto nose. Went great with a deep-dish style pizza with hot salami.

Now I'm drinking some Croatian no-label grappa I bought from a tiny wine producer near Rovigno (used to be Italy) called Visintin. He must have put it in some wood cause its amber colored. Very, very tasty stuff. Not your typical grappa cause its actually quite smooth and goes down almost too easy. Cheers!

Agostino
Not quite the same as tasting for yourself, but here are some of my notes ranging from 20 years old up to 45 years old (all from Nervi). The 1990s were picked up at auction and overall have been somewhat disappointing, but then the price wasn't bad (I also got some 1999 Felsina CCR Gancia in the same lot). The 1979 wine was a stonker, not a sought after vintage as apparently no-one thought at the time that the wines would last.

1990 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (1/4/2010)
Similar to previous bottles in appearance, with a broad orange/brown rim.

This bottle very reserved on the nose, showing a little fruit with a balsamic aspect.

Somewhat underwhelming on the palate, with very light fruit, acidity sticking out a little and along with the residual tannin, gives a drying finish. Not a lot of charm - perhaps it may improve as it warms and aerates?


1990 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (12/2/2009)
Mature and light hued, showing a significant band of orange at the rim.

Somewhat light nose of lightly smoked cured meats with a hint of coffee.

Again light on the palate with the acidity just sticking out a fraction too much. That aside, there's a pleasant orange aspect linking to the acidity and it's enjoyable albeit lacking great complexity.


1990 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (9/2/2009)
Seems to be best of the case so far. Cork stained ~ 1/4 of the way up

Slightly dull in hue, but otherwise a good strong (for nebbiolo) colour for it's age, with notable, but not excessive brown/orange at the rim.

A typical nebbiolo nose with a lovely balsamic edge to it.

The palate is light in body and although refreshing, the acidity melds well with the rest of the wine. Decent complexity, albeit not earth-shattering and there's a slightly bitter edge, that you could easily miss if eating food with the wine. The finish is moderate and of fairly light intensity.

Overall very good, perhaps the level of a middling Barbaresco of similar age. Some bottle variation going on here.


1990 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (8/6/2009)
Similar colour to previous bottles, an open red with some orange at the rim

This one showing a little more earth/mushroom on the nose, though this may be in part down to the wine still being a little cool (it's a hot & humid day!).

The palate again light, but in character for the grape/region, light tannins but they do provide some grip on the finish. Decent length to the finish, though quite low intensity.


1990 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (7/30/2009)
mature red-claret colour with some orange at the rim.

Very much a Nebbiolo nose, and for once, maybe the classical 'tar' fits, but not so much roses as violets to go with it, alongside a whiff of VA.

On the palate, little in the way of fruit (even in aged nebbiolo terms), though as it warms in the glass (opened initially at cellar temp) some (slightly sour) cherry & tangerine emerges from behind the refreshing acidity, alongside a hint of licorice and some residual tannin.


1990 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (7/10/2009)
Relatively light bodied (even for a Nebbiolo wine), with a touch of VA, yet with those wonderful subtle aged aromas & tastes that Nebbiolo can offer, supported by acidity that really refreshes the palate.


1964 Nervi Gattinara - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (12/26/2007)
After a great run with very old Nebbiolo (aka Spanna) wines, this had dropped it's colour and unsurprisingly was well past best and just beyond drinkable. Useful for cooking but no more.


1979 Nervi Gattinara - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara (1/28/2007)
Well, this threw up some surprises!
The colour was surprisingly bold and young looking, albeit with some browning at the rim. The nose was a wonderfully rich mix of mushroom, coffee and hints of the fading fruit. Absolutely stunning and the sort of nose that you can spend quite some time over. On the palate the richness was replicated, with fine texture and acidity was spot-on. I couldn't fault this wine and showed much of what I seek in older wines. For me this around it's peak. Definitely wine of the night and at the price a crazy bargain, showing that it's not just the famous names in the famous regions who can make great wine.


regards

Ian

p.s. It's a shame that shopping malls in Italy are as dull as others the world over. When ordinary specialist shops in Italy can be so fantastic, it's a shame to realise that many folk in Italy really don't care about their food and are happy to buy pretty average stuff in supermarkets... but yes, there are still some gems there and as you say, often well-priced. When a supermarket stocks Nervi or Mastroberardino, or indeed Caffé Vergnano, then I'll forgive it it's other sins

p.p.s. I find words like Buio, miei, Puoi, etc. some of the hardest to get to grips with in Italian. Short words but far too many vowels for my liking!

Went great with a deep-dish style pizza

Is that common in Italy?

Hey Ian, thanks for your post. All my questions magically answered. You are one heck of a wine nerd, buying up Nervi at wine auctions! LOL. Funny how the vigneto Molsino doesn't seem to differ much from the regular Gattinara.

Apparently, that whole area used to be one of the biggest wine areas of Europe. Then the textile industry came in, in the 30's or so, and all the peasants taking care of vineyards went to work in textile factories. So when you go there now you don't see any vineyards at all. The few remaining are well hidden. I wonder if its true that nebbiolo from those areas was more highly prized than Barolo. Italy's first prime minister and uniter of Italy, Camillo Cavour, was especially fond of Sizzano. The only producer of mention still making Sizzano is Dessilani. I have a half-case of his 2001 in my cellar.

Your notes weren't that promising except for the 1979. I'm glad there's a ray of hope.

I'm importing some wines into North Carolina, USA, one of which is a nebbiolo based wine from n. piemonte by a tiny artisanal producer. I'd be glad to send you a bottle to see what you think.

Agostino Berti wrote:
Went great with a deep-dish style pizza


Is that common in Italy?

It's not common at all. There's a place in the town where my parents live that makes it and they do brisk business. Its real fluffy and tall but the bottom crust is nice and crispy. I like it. Instead of a whole pizza per person like they usually do here, they give you a big slice.

I'm importing some wines into North Carolina, USA, one of which is a nebbiolo based wine from n. piemonte by a tiny artisanal producer. I'd be glad to send you a bottle to see what you think.

Agostino
Better than that - let me know who it is and I'll look it up next time we're in Torino - if you're importing it, then it must be good

Yes the 1979 stood out and I guess the 1980s to late 1990s were a bad time for the area. Certainly the old Vallana Spannas are a joy and I do keep an eye out for other old bottles from N. Piemonte. I really should have bought that old magnum of Nervi (Gattinara or Spanna) from (IIRC) 1971 I saw a while back. A lovely bottle - a joy in itself.

I must admit I'd expected better from the Molsino, and indeed from a lauded vintage. OK some bottles have been better than others, but overall somewhat disappointing.

regards

Ian

It's not common at all. There's a place in the town where my parents live that makes it and they do brisk business. Its real fluffy and tall but the bottom crust is nice and crispy. I like it. Instead of a whole pizza per person like they usually do here, they give you a big slice.

Aha.

So is it inspired by Chicago deep dish pizza or is it something else/more Italian?

Fluffy and tall yet crispy on the bottom sounds better than the sweet gooey mess that one often finds in Chicago.

LOL. I doubt its inspired by Chicago. I don't think anybody around here has ever been to Chicago. I haven't had real Chicago deep-dish pizza but I'm sure it can be good!! I could go for some right now...along with a Big Mac!

I must admit I'd expected better from the Molsino, and indeed from a lauded vintage. OK some bottles have been better than others, but overall somewhat disappointing.

I agree, if the 1990 single-vineyard isn't inspiring at 20 yrs. old, why should I buy the 2001 at all. Seems like a total waste of cellar-space. I don't understand why they don't get more fruit in these wines. That's what I'm worried about with the 2001, it's got a ton of dusty tannins but doesn't seem to have much fruit.

Have you tried the Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Ghemme , their single-vineyard Collis Breclemae? I have a 3 liter bottle of their 1997 along with a half-case of 750ml. Good stuff. Too bad they recently spiked up their prices.

Agostino Berti wrote:
Went great with a deep-dish style pizza


Is that common in Italy?

It's not common at all. There's a place in the town where my parents live that makes it and they do brisk business. Its real fluffy and tall but the bottom crust is nice and crispy. I like it. Instead of a whole pizza per person like they usually do here, they give you a big slice.

As a New Yorker, we do take great pride in our pizza … so much so that there’s even a few diehard fanatics claiming that the first pizza in Italy was really imported from Brooklyn. These same diehards don’t even consider the Chicago deep-dish stuff as pizza.

Anyway, I have to say that I’ve had a few Chicago deep-dish stuff that were really good. That hometown deep-dish with crispy bottom sure sounds like one terrific dish.

Ramon