2020 Cantine Nervi Conterno Gattinara Vigna Molsino 750 ml

Among the Piedmont’s great names, one stands at the summit: Roberto Conterno. He makes Italy’s most coveted wine, the $1,000 Conterno Barolo Monfortino, at his family’s estate. Wine Advocate called it “the ultimate benchmark for vino italiano.”

But even some of Conterno’s biggest fans aren’t clued in to his other Piedmont project, Cantine Nervi Conterno, which is making some of the greatest Nebbiolo out there—at a fraction of the cost of the Giacomo Conterno bottles.

Roberto bought Nervi, the oldest estate in Gattinara, in 2018. He saw the potential in the region, which is higher and cooler than Barolo, as it has long produced excellent wines. Climate change is making them even better. 

The top wines from Nervi Conterno, like today’s 2020 Cantine Nervi Conterno Gattinara Vigna Molsino, are absolutely undervalued—even as critics award them monster scores. This bottle got 97 points from Vinous founder (and Italian specialist) Antonio Galloni, who has declared: “The ambition is pretty clear. Molsino will soon be the Monfortino of Alto Piemonte.”

This is not just a wine from a great vintage made by a legendary winemaker—the vineyard itself is one of the grandest in Italy. It’s been famous since the 1400s for the quality of its wines, thanks to its perfectly exposed south-facing amphitheater of vines, well-draining volcanic soils, and elevation that balances sunshine with cool nights.

Roberto uses the same techniques in Gattinara that he does for his coveted Baroli: the same fermenters, the same high-tech destemmers to ensure fine tannins, the same expensive custom bottling line. The fermentations are similar at both estates—exceptionally traditional, with three to four-week maceration on the skins.

When you taste with Conterno, he loves to present his Barolos and Gattinaras together, to show that the wines are absolute peers. Right now, there’s a big price difference between the two sets of bottles, but I don’t know how much longer that will last. Prices for the Nervi Conterno Gattinaras have gone up significantly year over year, and as Antonio Galloni notes, “the wines from the two estates can absolutely stand side by side.”