Antoniolo Gattinara DOCG riserva, 2017, Antoniolo, 0,75 l

For many, Antoniolo is the most important reference property in Gattinara, the most famous appellation of Alto Piemonte. Today, the winery is run by a sister and brother, Lorella and Alberto Antoniolo, and was founded in 1948 by their grandfather Mario. In the 1950s and 1960s, when many Italians fled the countryside to work in the factories of Piedmont, Antoniolo grabbed the best vineyards in the area. By the 1970s, they had an enviable collection of Gattara's top cru, including a monopoly in the Osso San Grato vineyard. In 1974, Rosanna Antoniolo, Mario's daughter and Alberto and Lorella's mother, took up the suggestion of Italy's most famous wine journalist, Luigi Veronelli, and bottled her Osso San Grato and San Francesco as single vineyard wines. Although a few producers in the Langhe had already done this, for Gattinaro it was revolutionary. Today, the estate has 14 hectares of vineyards and the brother and sister follow the strict guidelines of their pioneering mother. Fermentations are slow in concrete barrels with indigenous yeasts and all Gattinaros are aged for as long as the Riserve, even those from the 2015 vintage. Vineyard management: pest control with low doses of copper and sulphur without the use of chemical fertilisers. Very low doses of sulphur are added to the wine. And a few more highlights from the wine world: "Gattinara's driving force is a quiet, petite 75-year-old grandmother named Rosanna Antoniolo" - Wine Sepctator. "One of the reference points at Gattinara."-Antonio Galloni, Vinous "Antoniolo's bottles contain the best of Northern Piedmont's heritage. With a solid structure and only a semblance of dryness, they can survive for decades, while all their greatness becomes immediately apparent."- Gambero Rosso