Antonio Vallana, Gattinara

Beautiful wine. Tar and old leather dominate at first. And then some rose and dark cherry creeps in. Fills the mouth with a fair amount of body although it is a lean wine. Discernible tannins, excellent balance. Long, satisfying finish. Drink or hold.

2008 vintage

This is still drinking well; relatively mature on the nose with dried cherry, orange peel, mint, licorice, a bit of damp earth. The palate is elegant and while not a ton of intensity it is fairly nice. No rush.

2007 vintage

This wine is now mature and in a great place. No sign of the funk from previous bottles 5+ years ago. Still some rustic tannins- but great acidity, cherry, roses, leather, damp earth. No tremendous development between hours 3 and 48, but it held up nicely over 3 evenings. Significantly better than my rating from 2020 would indicate.

2007 vintage

My first bottle in over three years, this is as delicious as ever. The structure is all there and I raise my drinking window to 2035. Consumed over three nights, with nights two and three in 25cl bottles with vacuvin, so only the air from one extra pour. Best on night three. On night one it was slow-oxed for six hours and then decanted for one hour. It still took a long time to open up. Outstanding QPR. Firm acid …

2007 vintage

20 hours ago, pulled from cellar, from on its side, was clear so opened, decanted 6oz and let the glass and open bottle sit in the cellar at 55 degrees. Today, I took that glass and have been taking several sips. This was just delightful. I love Nebbiolo, and this is an excellent expression. I will let this bottle continue to slow-ox for 4 days. Nose was practically non-existent. Palate held cherries, stars, tars, power and elegance. This is my …

2007 vintage

Wo, hey I didn't realize that I had a full glass of undecanted goodness from this bottle that I opened up 3 days ago. Immediately the nose smelled like juice from Serralunga! Wow! Was blown away with the tars and roses! Palate was full and rich and perfectly on par with good Barolos from Corino, Pira, and the likes. Density, cooling tobacco, leather, tars, length like a fabulous cigar. The juice was clear, yet it was the dregs. 3 days …

2007 vintage

Decanted and let rest in decanter at room temperature for 24 hours. That odd funk blew out. What remained was gorgeous Spanna! Wow, just perfect juice. Nose of deep tars, spice, narry a berry, and may even be a touch closed! Palate of gorgeous spices, tars, good grip, berry and flowers. That tarry crunch was perfect! Whaddy think I should let sit out another 24 hours? Yep, done. Will do.

2007 vintage

Took out of my 55 degree fridge 2 months ago to stand upright. Decanted most, but a good 8oz remained with that fine sediment. It had volatiles that persisted even 3 hours later. This thing has to open up overnight. Will give more notes tomorrow. To give this fantastic juice justice, I must not drink prematurely!

2007 vintage

Nuts, ripe strawberries, balsamico and tar on the nose; and that rocky minerality that just screams Gattinara. Lovely fresh, medium bodied palate, classicaly styled in every way, certainly rustic but with character and soul. Good length. Just missing some further complexity and depth to be really "grand". But a super Gattinara as it is. 17.5+/20

2007 vintage

Medium garnet. Cherry, rose, balsamic, baking spices, oak, flowers. Medium+ acidity and tannins, medium body. Slightly oxidised, but still going strong.

2007 vintage

Its really in a wonderful place, soft, fragant, still some fruit and just a hint of age

2007 vintage

scorched earth, tar, cherry; extremely complex aromatics. Cool and elegant on the palate with super fine tannins; concentrated flavors.

2007 vintage

Cool, gentle, elegnat Nebbiolo. After a little air it filled out and showed some complexity but there’s more to come. Try again 2026. 3.5+

2007 vintage

Absolutely stunning wine and the best Nebbiolo I’ve had since a 1964 Gaja Barbaresco. Opened 3 hours before serving - no decant. The nose was initially shy but opened with air and revealed beautiful aromas of red and black fruits, tar, leather, dried earth, tobacco, truffles and minerals. In the mouth the acid/tannin structure is still going strong with the flavours reflecting the nose with a little spice as well. The finish is extremely long. While I wouldn’t hesitate to …

2007 vintage

flawed heat damaged bottle

2007 vintage

This is not an easygoing pop’n pour glug glug wine. Upon uncorking, I considered the possibility it was past its peak or defective. Very rustic, rusty and tarry. It needed a couple of hours in the decanter to come together. After 3 hours it revealed itself as an austere, subalpine, perfumed, elegant and, frankly, quite young Nebbiolo wine with aromas of iron, cherry, tar and a whiff of blond tobacco and leather (no significant markers of dried fruit or strong …

2007 vintage

Final bottle from a 6 pack, these have all been very nice. Showing medicinal aromas and warm road tar, dried pipe tobacco, with floral notes in the upper register. Varietally correct sour cherries are ushered in alongside a hint of anise and tar on the palate. Lean, but not mean, this mature Gattinara has given all it can and should be consumed soon IMHO. It is still lovely.

2007 vintage

Yum, yum crunchy tar and roses. So delicious. Decanted to huge aromas of tart cherries. This aroma was markedly different than other sharp cherries of other wines upon decant in that this one was sort of luxuriously intoxicating and assuredly of very high quality. It took 3 hours for the sharp edges and rusticity to resolve and come together with power, sweet tars, delicious baking spices and length. I could down this every night for a month. Buy. And could …

2007 vintage

My second bottle; the first was 3.5 years ago. Double-decanted through a gravity aerator and served 45 minutes later, the wine was surprisingly (for Vallana Gattinara) open, and continued to open up during dinner. Another surprise was that the wine's aromatic and flavor profile was slightly less opulent than I remember, and it's structure was bigger and better and more typically Gattinara than I remember. The wine today is a classic Gattinara, with an intoxicating mix of leather, rose and …

2008 vintage

Day 1: Decanted half of this bottle for an hour to let it open and enjoyed it with dinner. Like other aged Vallana Nebbiolo based wines that I’ve tasted this shows slight bricking along with pronounced leather and tart cherry on nose and palate. Certainly not a showy style but very good and outstanding value. Day 2: The remaining wine was poured into a 375 ml. bottle and stored at 55 degrees for second day tasting. The strong aromatics have …

2007 vintage

Took to a party; tasty stuff; tannins are nicely resolved; there is nice red fruit followed by tobacco, floral notes; not a lot of depth and concentration, but nicely balanced; I enjoyed this and it was a great value.

2007 vintage

Double decanted and served two hours later. My first bottle in over two years, and the wine has changed only slightly, become more open and losing a bit of its structure. Otherwise, this continues to be a very good wine and an outstanding QPR. Firm acid backbone, integrated tannins. Medium body, a wonderful 13% alcohol, rose petal, black tea, raw steak and beetroot. Savory. Drink to 2030.

2007 vintage

With Nervi and Antoniolo as my reference points, I have to say my first bottle of this was pretty "meh." I agree with bits from both prior tasters - I think this is likely to hold for a good bit of time (it's Gattinara after all), but at the same time I was a bit disappointed in the level of energy and complexity. Some red fruit, but lacking much edge or verve, lots of autumnal leaf type of notes. Hopefully …

2007 vintage

Penultimate of 6 bottles. Tart cherry fruit, dried tobacco leaf, fig pie, road tar, and anise. Lovely, very nice complexity and structure. Finely grained tannins with a drying finish that begs for another sip. Delicious. Drink now through 2022.

2007 vintage

We usually don't decant this wine, but I had a recently emptied decanter on the table when I opened this bottle, so I poured it in and left it about 30 minutes, then drank out of GGG stems. Fantastic showing. We've now drunk through a case of this wine out of a 2 case purchase, and I think it's really come into its own over the past year. In such a beautiful place, with the mid-palate nicely filled out, more …

2007 vintage

Cork was pretty well intact. Color was promising but on the nose and taste it was just too old. Barely drinkable. Air exposure only made it worse. After half a glass, the rest went down the drain.

1990 vintage

PnP that was ready from the first moment. Fruit is beginning (i.e. it's slight) to dry out, tannins fully resolved. A dusty, red/dark red berry core, with lots of soil/place notes. Supremely enjoyable, and didn't fade at all over the two hours it was open. Shows such a fine ability to pair with a wide variety of dishes. Pure joy. Time to start drinking down the stash. recommended+ http://www.italianwine.blog

2007 vintage

Single blind tasting Garnet with rim clearing Aromatics medium +. Floral dominant with rose, followed by saddle leather, tar and cherry. No oak Palate medium. Acid medium +. Tannins medium +, fine and on the gums. Cherry and red flowers Finish has medium length. Balanced Main issue is relative lack of flavors on palate. Aromatics appear feminine typical of Nebbiolo, quite persistent and nice.

2008 vintage

Light ruby with extensive bricking Medium plus aromas of cherry and lilac/ florals with underlying leather/ tar and touch of cinnamon Medium palate of red fruit and dry herbs with medium plus well integrated fine tannins and medium plus acidity with a medium length I really enjoyed the nose on this wine - I found the palate a little lacking in comparison Drink now or keep another 5-10 yrs

2008 vintage

2 hour decant to help open this up - initially tight on the nose even 12 years in! after the decant - bright red fruits, rose petals, tobacco, forest floor on the nose. ligher, translucent coloring in glass Medium + acidity, lots of fruit, integrated but still powerful tannin, and a long finish that envelops the mouth. Beautiful wine with yet some aging potential to improve.

2008 vintage

Found this in the bargain bin for $5.99. A little musty to start, but blew off quickly, leaving a relatively unblemished nose with a hint of soy and underbrush. Clearly past its peak, but still has robust acidity keeping it alive. Drying fruit, but managed to generate sufficient interest to get consumed quickly. Not going to win any contests, but I think this was a fantastic deal, and would happily buy and drink more if they were available.

1994 vintage

Delicious but a bit heavy in the mouth at first. I would give it another year.

2008 vintage

Anniversary Dinner at Demi (Demi, Mpls) : Medium red color. Wine pairing at Demi. Drank a glass over 20 minutes. Cherry, quite spicy, layered, medium full bodied, firm tannins. Solid. 90+pts.

2008 vintage

I don’t have a lot of experience with Nebbiolo, but I did get the classic tar and roses. Red fruit, medium light body, medium acidity. Very interesting because of the combination of light body with strong tannins.

2008 vintage

Really, really good. Great complexity. Strong tannins and opens up a lot the second day

2008 vintage

PnP at SPQR. Mid+ body, mid+ acid. 13%

2008 vintage

The big aromatic profile of the 2008 Gattinara is primarily one of dark red fruits, some bright red fruits, and lots of leather, sweet tobacco and herbs. The nose is a bit less complex and ethereal than some vintages of this wine from Vallana, but they are big. It has a great medium+ body, with lots of fruit flavors, a firm acid backbone and prominent tannins. It has a big, dark fruit and bittersweet finish. Very good.

2008 vintage

Light in body but very big in Nebbiolo flavors. Long complex finish with abated tannins. Perfect with chicken pieces augmented by three different peppers.

2008 vintage

Rich and ripe, very different nose to a comparable Langhe red. Medicinal streak. Spice and touch of leather; good on the palate, nice development. Herbal, floral finish.

2008 vintage

Another bottle, this time a little fresher, but still showing some of the seaweed character that blighted the other bottle. The acidity is also a little strong for what is a relatively light wine. A shame as there is some interest here, but for once the failings will stick in the mind longer than the positives. Will have to try a better vintage - I hear positive stories about Vallana, but it's a long way to go to restore the …

1994 vintage

Over-aged and probably never good enough to start off with.

1994 vintage

Deeper garnet. Nose had a bottle stink that suggested slight corkiness that never blew off, so NR. Taste was sweet in an amarone sort of way.

1990 vintage

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Antonio Vallana, Gattinara

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