Costa Della Sesia, Piemonte, Italy
Travaglini’s Coste della Sesia – essentially a declassified Gattinara – is Nebbiolo grown on rocky soils at 900-1,150 feet above sea level. The wine casts a translucent cherry-garnet robe followed by aromas of tart cherries, pomegranate seeds, dusty earth, rose petals, and licorice. Sporting fine, buffered tannins and begging for food, Travaglini’s Nebbiolo alternates waves of wild cherry and red currant fruit with complex suggestions of dusty limestone and ferrous minerals, blond leather, and pink peppercorns. The wine finishes vibrant, savory, and soil transparent with firm, lip-dusting tannins propelling nuances of spicy cinnamon bark, Alpine herbs, and earthy kasha kernels. This is a superb Alto Piemonte rosso for hearty summer barbeques, stews, braises, pizzas, pastas, and recipes spotlighting earthy mushrooms or buckwheat. Enjoy now and over the coming seven years.
