The Nervi estate in Gattinara was acquired by Giacomo Conterno’s family in 2018, making it one of the most significant developments in recent Piedmontese wine history: the Conterno name, already synonymous with the absolute pinnacle of Barolo production, applied to the production of Gattinara, the historic Nebbiolo appellation in northern Piedmont whose wines were once regarded as rivals to the finest Barolo before declining into relative obscurity over the twentieth century. Roberto Conterno’s stated ambition at Nervi is to return Gattinara to the quality and prestige it held in the mid-twentieth century, and early vintages under the new management have attracted extraordinary critical and commercial attention. The 2019 is among the first vintages produced entirely under Roberto Conterno’s direct supervision, using the same philosophy of extended maceration and large-barrel ageing that underpins every wine at Giacomo Conterno in Monforte d’Alba.

Gattinara is produced from Nebbiolo (locally called Spanna) grown on volcanic porphyry soils in the Sesia Valley of northern Piedmont, approximately 80 kilometres north of Barolo and at significantly higher elevations that produce wines of a lighter, more aromatic and more delicately structured character than the Langhe’s greatest expressions. The volcanic porphyry and clay soils of the Gattinara zone impart a distinctive iron-mineral and floral character to the Nebbiolo that distinguishes it clearly from the calcareous marl-dominated expressions of Barolo and Barbaresco. Under Roberto Conterno’s management, the estate’s 72 hectares of Gattinara vineyards are being farmed with the same rigour and precision applied at Cascina Francia, and the wines are being aged in large Slavonian oak botti consistent with the Conterno philosophy.

Nervi-Conterno has become one of the most discussed wine developments in Italy over the past five years, and the 2019 Gattinara, one of the earliest vintages fully under Roberto Conterno’s direction, represents a genuinely significant acquisition for those who follow both the Conterno family’s work and the broader renaissance of northern Piedmont’s historic Nebbiolo appellations.

Ruby with a delicately complex nose of dried rose, red cherry, pomegranate, iron mineral, sour cherry, light tobacco and the distinctive floral-volcanic character of Gattinara Nebbiolo on porphyry soils. Medium-bodied with firm, fine-grained tannins, bright natural acidity and a long, mineral, elegant finish. Best from 2026 through 2042.