Italy’s Burgundy

There are some Italian reds made from Nebbiolo north of the Langhe that have a certain elegance, character, delicious drinkability and a structure that is not too excessive.

I have recently been wondering a whether an Italian equivalent to the best wines of Burgundy need necessarily be made from Pinot Nero. Although Italy produces some excellent Pinot Noir, it is hard to imagine that they could replicate those characteristics of elegance and complexity that make the great Burgundy wines so inimitable. And perhaps that’s the way it should be.

However, were we to take a leap in logic, as well as an organoleptic one, perhaps also due to the effects if climate change, we could look at different areas, other wines and even those made with other varietals.

I refer in particular to certain reds made from Nebbiolo produced more to the north of the classic Langhe wines. In other words, wines like Gattinara, last but not least the one from Nervi, an estate that was recently acquired by nine other than Roberto Conterno. Then there are those of Antoniolo. Paride Iaretti and even some excellent Travaglini reserves. Another wine is the Ghemme from Torraccia del Piantavigna, Paride Chiovini and Valle Roncati. Other wines include the Lessona of Sella and Villa Guelpa, Boca Le Piane of Christoph Kunzli; Carema from Ferrando; and even some Valtellina like Grumello Buon Consiglio Arpepe or the Sassella Grisone of Alfio Mozzi.

These are obviously different from Gevrey Chambertin or the more celebrated Vosne Romanèe but they do have a certain affinity with them. This even if that can have tannins that are a bit rougher, which would be logical. Nevertheless, they have a certain elegance, character, delicious drinkability and a structure that is not too excessive. These wines are slightly more agile than their Langhe cousins but often share their propensity to age long and in recent years they have distinctly improved quality-wise from those of previous decades.

For this reason, I believe these wines could represent the Italian counterpart to those great French wines, which have become unapproachable given the prices they are now demanding. It is not by chance that I am collecting more of them in my own wine cellar and am happy to do so.