Wine of the week: A royal bottle

In the famous region of Piemonte, north in Italy, there is a wine that once had the attention of European royalty. Gattinara is both the name of a small city situated between Torino and Milano, and the name of the wines from this small region. It's a limited production and , in most cases, on 100% Nebbiolo grapes.

A cardinal named Mercurino Arborio, working for King Charles V, brought Gattinara wines for his own consumption, whenever he was travelling. 
Travels were many, wine was shared and soon royalty all over Europa took a liking to this characteristic wine from northern Italy.
Gattinara wines became very popular and held it's position into the beginning of the 19th century. 
Today only about 100 hectare of vineyards remain; a fraction of its former glory.

But things are looking up for the region. Just recently one of Piemonte's most famous winemakers, Roberto Conterno, bought 90% of the traditional winery Nervi. The winery is situated in Gattinara and was run and owned by Norwegian Erling Astrup.

"Conterno wants in on the fun happening in Gattinara", an employe at Vinmonopolet told me, as we spoke of the region. "The price of Nervi's Gattinara 2015 rose from 300NOK to 380NOK, overnight, as Conterno bought the house. And that's even before Conterno did anything to the winemaking."

A Gattinara wine is a very different experience than it's Barolo & Barbaresco brothers and sisters south in Piemonte. Even made on the same grape, in the same region, the Gattinara wines stand out differently. They are more slim and acidic, and demand more of you as a consumer. They tend to be quite complex and with great potential for ageing.

Our pick for wine of the week is from Travaglini. A winery started in 1920 that produces a number of different wines. We've tasted their traditional Gattinara DOCG from 2014.

Tasting notes

Travaglini Gattinara 2014 - 239kr
100% Nebbiolo
2 years on oak
 
Medium red with a light brown edge.

Delicate and complex nose with leather, liquorice, autumn forrest, some raspberries, sweet tobacco and dried fruits.

Rich, delicate and soft in the mouth. Flavours of dark plums, cherries and dried fruits.
Pleasant tannins, good structure and nicely integrated oak. Long, rich and delicious after tast that lingers long in the mouth.

FOOD
A wine excellent to drink alone,  but will go very well with many Italian classics. Bolognese, Pizza Margarita and Vitello Tonnato, to mention a few.