New vintages and rare visits from Travaglini, R. López de Heredia and Domaine de la Begude
by Mary Bailey
“Gattinara is an old volcano,” says Alessia Travaglini, 5th generation of the family to make wine in Gattinara, “and there are two main things that make our wines different from those of Barolo or the Langhe. We are on an ancient volcano. The soils here are made up of basalt, porphyry, manganese, with some limestone and granite. The other big difference is that we are very far north and so close to the mountains. Monte Rosa (and its glacier) is only 30km away; it stands behind the vineyards. All this contributes to our wines being a bit fresher.”
Alessia Travaglini (L) and Alberto Alboreggia (Sorrentino’s) after lunch at Nero.
Clemente Travaglini started making wine here in 1920. “We are still a family business—my sister, my parents, myself and my husband. Our job, our love, is to explore the characteristics of Nebbiolo in Gattinara,” says Alessia. “We are happy to bring forward the tradition and the story.”
First up was the new 2020 Nebolè Classic Method. “It’s an interesting project; we started to explore the possibility of sparkling Nebbiolo in 2007; 2020 is the first vintage to be released. It spends 48 months on the lees, disgorged in April and released last October. I have been tasting it since and am encouraged by how it’s changing.” The harvest protocol is unique: they pick the tips of the clusters only, in specific vineyards, leaving the rest to ripen for another month. The result? A delicious bubble, dry (zero dosage), yet with the beautiful Nebbiolo red fruit notes plus layers of apple, citrus and a seam of minerality that keeps things fresh. As the entire vintage is only 4000 bottles, unfortunately it won’t be available in every store. But we are seeing more sparkling Nebbiolos in the market, which is a good thing for lovers of well-made bubble.
“When people think of Nebbiolo they think of a wine that needs three-five years of aging, has big body and strong complexity,” says Alessia. “People sometimes call wines of this style baby Barolos but I don’t agree with that. It’s a different project, it’s not baby anything, it’s the way we think about our wine and this wine has the characteristics we want to communicate.” 2023 Nebbiolo Coste della Sesia DOC is from vines under 15 years old, grown below 50 metres, fermented in stainless steel and spends 10 months in large old Slovenian oak. Fresh, with aromas and flavours of roses, strawberry, earth, smoked meat and an attractive herbal note, accessible and super drinkable right now. Have with roast vegetable dishes or lasagne.
This Gattinara, in the classic curvy bottle, was my intro to Nebbiolo (with my friend named Travaglini, this was how we splurged). Now, of course, there are dozens of Nebbiolo on the shelf, but who doesn’t love to be reminded of the wine of their youth? 2021 Gattinara DOCG is the signature Travaglini wine made from vines that range from 15-45 years, lovely rose, strawberry and black tea aromas, flavours of tart cranberry with svelte, upright tannins and a superb finish. Lean into that singularity with robust braised beef dishes or hard cheeses.
New owners of Bandol’s Domaine de La Begude means that the prices have dropped quite spectacularly. That, plus the removal of the value-add tax means these wines are affordable for everyday drinking, not just special occasions.
Juanita Roos (Color de Vino), Greg Deeds (Begude), Misun Bu (Dream Wines).
2024 Cadet de la Bégude Rosé IGP Méditerranée is a delicious blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvèdre, pale coral, with almond blossom and strawberry notes. It’s easy drinking, a terrific patio wine and we hope to see this by the glass around town this season. IGP Méditerranée is what we used to call vin de pays.
2024 Bandol Rosé Bandol is the home of Mourvèdre and this rosé has just 25 per cent Cinsault to partner. A beautiful wine, fuller bodied with ample complexity. Delicious. Drink this right through dinner, especially with grilled salmon.
2021 Bandol Rouge is full bodied, with layers of savoury flavour—darkest fruit, leather, Mediterranean herbs, a forthright tannin backbone and balanced acidity. Mourvèdre, and Bandol in particular, is known for its ability to age gracefully, but this is drinking well now too. Organic grapes with 10 per cent Grenache. A delicious, elegant wine meant to be enjoyed slowly, with your best steaks.
2022 D de Dauzac Bordeaux Superieur Rouge is not from the south of France. Rather, its Bordeaux made by the sister company of Begude. It’s an approachable Cab Sauv and Merlot blend with delicious red fruit notes, affordable, drinking well now, just a terrific wine to have around for impromptu dinners or to tuck into a gift.
María José López de Heredia now heads operations at the mythical wine producer R. López de Heredia, who have been making wine along the Ebro River in Rioja since 1877. What a treat it is to taste Tondonia with export director Maria Vincente at Bar Henry. Maria talks about the underground cellars that date back to the 1880s and the old technique of using bunches of grape vine cuttings (pajuela) to clean barrels. The wild yeast that arrives on the grapes. At harvest, if it’s hot in the cellar, they open a window. In fact, Maria says, “nothing has changed.” In a world of constant change, this is not only refreshing, it is radical. Heredia doesn’t make a lot of wine and what they do make is aged for several years before release. “We release the wines as they are, we have people who are faithful, lovers of our wines,” she says.
From left: Graham Versailles (Waldorf Wine), Maria Vincente (R. López de Heredia) and Camilo Torres (Bar Henry) at Bar Henry.
2014 Viña Tondonia White Reserva. We start with the very rare white, primarily Viura (the classic white grape of Rioja) with 10 per cent Malvasia. Beautiful almond and linden leaf aromas. Thick, almost viscous, yet dances on the palate with notes of lemon, tangerine and a whisper of salinity. As much as I love fresh and fruity youthful whites, this 12-year-old wine is alchemic.
2017 Viña Cubillo Crianza has 25 per cent Grenache plus Mazuelo and Graciano to the 65 per cent Tempranillo in the blend. The difficult vintage had early frost, but what they did make is delicious and approachable—the lean character offset by a lovely smoky tobacco and red fruit bouquet with silky tannins. Drink with tartare, grilled lamb, rich pastas.
2017 Viña Bosconia Reserva. Laser focused, elegant and expressive, Some of the tasters said that Bosconia was their gateway wine to Rioja in general and Heredia in particular. The blend is 80 per cent Tempranillo with 15 per cent Grenache, the rest Mazuelo and Graciano. My notes say: transcendent. A beautiful wine, drink with grilled beef or lamb, mushroom dishes.
2012 Viña Tondonia Reserva is also 80 per cent Tempranillo, rich with the characteristic smoky tobacco and red fruit aromas, tasting of complex spice, earth, dark red fruit flavours—it says something different every time you take a sip. Needs time to knit. Drink with very good friends.
New wines from Mount Etna by Massimo Lentsch. This relatively new producer is making waves with these two wines made from indigenous grapes; expressive and delicious.
2024 Etna Bianco DOC is grown on stony volcanic soil, aged on the lees in steel with bâttonage for at least six months. No oak at all, which results in the delicious textural elegance of this Carricante. Love the fragrant citrus, white fruits and herbaceous notes, the minerality and subtle salinity. The grapes are from the Feudo Gabelle vineyard in the Calderara Sottana contrada. Let it sit out of the fridge for at least 10-20 minutes to display all the aromas and flavours. Drink with silky pastas with seafood, chicken dishes.
2023 Etna Rosso DOC is grown on the the northern slope of Etna in the Feudo di Mezzo contrada. This lively Nerello Mascalese has some new oak and is bottled unfiltered. It’s a little spicy with juicy red fruit and a lovely seam of minerality from the first sip with persistent and engaging tannins. A delight.
