The History of Gattinara Wine
Officially, the village that gives its name to Gattinara wine was founded in 1242, when the Duke of Vercelli decided to unite the inhabitants of the small villages scattered along the course of the River Sesia into a single fortified town. For centuries, these villages had been the target of battles waged by armies of conquerors who regularly ravaged and plundered the area. Thus a single, safe and defensible village was created. Since the 16th century, we have evidence of vineyards on the hills surrounding this village, especially thanks to the legacy of a local priest, Cardinal Mercurino Arborio. He was Charles V's chancellor and introduced the wine to the main and exclusive European courts, where the churchman was on diplomatic and embassy duties. He used it to please the authorities, presenting them with barrels full of this exquisite Piedmontese wine, which at the time was already internationally appreciated. However, wine-growing in these areas declined sharply at the beginning of the last century, when large industries began to flourish in northern Piedmont as well, drawing workers away from the vineyards and enticing them with richer and more continuous wages, regardless of agricultural conditions. When these factories began to close 50 years later, the crisis hit this geographical area and, fortunately for enthusiasts, the local workers returned to the vines and resumed producing these tasty and complex drinks, now famous in the world of wine.
The Importance of Soil and Territory
Gattinara wine always manages to delight its tasters thanks to its very precise sensory characteristics, succeeding in transmitting aromatic and taste notes that easily distinguish it: one of the typical peculiarities that one usually finds when tasting this elegant and sumptuous Nebbiolo from Alto Piemonte is the strong, fresh component of great intensity on the palate. This is the result of a vine-growing that reaches harsher climates than the more famous Barolo and Barbaresco from the Langhe. Like any great red wine, its noble nature is found in environments that, from a geological point of view, possess peculiar and highly identifiable characteristics, beyond any human intervention. Its aromatic character can therefore be attributed above all to the particular composition of the soil, which is of ancient volcanic origin. At the foot of Monte Rosa, there is in fact a fossilised residue of one of the most extensive inactive volcanoes in Italy, known as the Val Sesia Supervolcano, which erupted 200 million years ago, covering the granite soils with abundant doses of volcanic and magmatic material and thus enriching the geological nature of its soils. This condition was necessary to transfer this wealth of minerals from the soil to the grapes and this is the main reason for the great aromatic intensity of this wine variety.
Tasting and Sensory Analysis
This enological variety is already capable of expressing its typical elegance to the eye, displaying a clear garnet colour, lacking in pigmentation and luminous transparency and turning towards more orangey tones as it ages. Even the bouquet reveals a great sample of complexity that plays on typical notes of enveloping spices, such as juniper and cardamom that allow, thanks to the oxygenation in the glass, a rich and ripe fruit component to emerge, reminiscent of ripe berries. The classic scents of liquorice and alpine herbs found in different productions, such as Gattinara Nervi, are also typical and fascinating. These bottles are particularly sought after for their balance, minerality and freshness. Its real strength, however, lies in the taste test, which is characterised by fullness and intriguing balance. An intense fresh component is usually apparent, with great intensity, which then flows into ample savoury and iron details, evidence of its soil.
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