Posted By Joel on January 3, 2011

Vallana Gattinara 1999

Bad art is “inaccurate art….art that makes false reports”.
“Good art bears true witness…”*
——– Ezra Pound, American expatriate poet and critic

IMHO, the same can be said of good wine.

Tasting Vallana’s Gattinara 1999, I was reminded of that good advice which Ezra Pound delivered to a young Ernest Hemingway during their years in Paris.

Vallana’s Gattinara 1999 bears true witness to the elegance and complexity for which one of the world’s most responsive transmitters of terroir – Nebbiolo - is well known. And it does so with an especially characterful expression of a terroir far north of Barolo.

The Nebbiolo, called Spanna in the local dialect, is hand harvested from steep, high altitude vineyards planted during the 1960s.

Fermentation is carried out over 8 – 10 days, the wine is then aged in large wood for 24 months followed by 1 year in bottle.

Tasting Notes / Impressions:

Leather, earth, roses and black tea suspended over the loveliest cherry flavors. Wonderful presence in the mouth, magnificent balance, finishes with firm, sweet, smooth tannins. A spectacular, decade-old Nebbiolo at a fraction of the cost of similar vintage Baroli / Barbareschi.

If you are a Nebbiolo-geek, I recommend not to miss this one

Food Pairing Suggestions:

I like robust though simply prepared foods with this wine — was wonderful with hand-carved roast beef served with good pan gravy, roasted potatoes and carrots. The wine’s tannins, while firm, are not aggressive, so pairings with roasted chicken or turkey will work well, too. If you’re vegetarian, consider grilled polenta triangles with mushroom gravy.

*Hemingway: The Paris Years, Michael Reynolds, p.30

Categories: $$ ($25-$50), Piedmont
Tags: Nebbiolo