Our Visit to Antoniolo
- Dillon Siflinger
- Mar 20, 2023
- 5 min read
Date of visit: October 18, 2022
About the Producer & Our Visit to Antoniolo
From the outside, the unassuming Antoniolo estate blends in well with the rest of their neighbors. In front, there’s a small storefront where you can purchase their wines, as well as wines from different producers from the region. Behind the wine shop, is a larger building, which could almost pass for an office building from the outside. However, beneath this building, is where some of the finest expressions of Nebbiolo in the region, and in the world, are being crafted.
When we arrived at the Antoniolo estate, we were greeted by Lorella Antoniolo. Lorella served as the chairperson of the Alto Piemonte Consorzio for ten years, but has since stepped down, and today focuses on the day-to-day operations of her legendary winery, while her brother, Alberto, serves as the estate's winemaker. Lorella and Alberto represent the third generation to run the Antoniolo estate, which was founded by their grandfather Mario in 1948. Ever since Antoniolo’s earliest days, they’ve been one of the region's benchmark producers, and they’ve always believed in the appellation's potential to produce high quality wine. In the 1950s and 1960s, while many other wine producers were leaving the region, Antoniolo expanded their holdings and purchased vineyards in top sites. In 1974, Mario’s daughter, Rosanna Antoniolo, accepted the suggestion of legendary Italian wine critic and journalist Luigi Veronelli, to bottle Osso San Grato and San Francesco as single vineyard Gattinara. This was revolutionary at the time, as no other Gattinara producers had ever done this before. Today, Antoniolo continues to produce some of the finest examples of Gattinara there is. In the vineyards no chemicals are used, copper and sulfur treatments are minimal, and crops are left to grow between the vines. In the cellar, wines are produced using traditional methods, with a fairly hands-off approach, and quality is always emphasized over quantity. On average Antoniolo produces only 4,600 cases of wine, and all Gattinara is labeled as Riserva.
We followed Lorella into the larger Antoniolo building and descended into the cellar, which is decorated with bottles from the estate's earliest years, preserved and displayed like beautiful artifacts. The cellar's design is unlike anything we’ve seen. The first portion is a massive square shaped room. In the center is a large cube which goes from floor to ceiling, consuming the majority of the room's space, leaving only about an 8 foot wide hallway of sorts around its perimeter. Lorella explained that this center portion used to be a gigantic cement tank for wine production, however it’s no longer used, as it was far too large. Today, the walls of the cement tank have been decorated with beautiful paintings, and you can still see the small stainless steel doors once used to access the cement tank. Being that this is no longer used for wine production, corridors of sorts have been carved into the structure to store wine. This is as beautiful as it is functional, and also preserves the history of the cellar.
Next, we made our way over to a room which holds Slavonian and French oak casks, tonneaux, and barriques, where wine is aged. Antoniolo’s Gattinara spends 36 months in a combination of wood (vintage and the vineyard site determine which wood and for how long), before being bottled and aged for an additional year in their cellars. Next, we made our way over to a room which houses the family’s personal library of wines. Lorella explained that it’s extremely important to keep these bottles and taste them over the years to see how they’re maturing, and also so that they can share them with friends and family. We then went upstairs, passed through the room where labeling and packaging is performed, and saw cases of wine ready to be shipped all over the world. One of our favorite parts of this room was a table which displayed around two dozen bottles of the estate's Gattinara and the different labels they’ve adopted over the years. Lorella then showed us the fermentation room, complete with large cement vessels and stainless steel tanks. She explained that all Gattinara is fermented in cement and all white, rosato, and Nebbiolo Coste Della Sesia Juveniain steel. Fermentation is always spontaneous, and no selected yeasts are ever used. We followed Lorella back to the wine shop, and began our tasting.
Tasting Notes
2020 Nebbiolo Coste Della Sesia Juvenia: DOC requiresCoste Della Sesia Nebbiolo to contain at minimum 85% Nebbiolo, however, Antoniolo’s example is produced from 100% Nebbiolo. Antoniolo first produced this wine in 1984. The wine was created by Lorella’s mother, who had the idea was to vinify Nebbiolo in stainless steel with no wood influence to showcase the Nebbiolo grape. The nose is juicy and fruit forward filled with aromas of crushed red fruits, tar, leather, forest, roses, and peonies. The palate is very fresh, approachable, light, easy drinking, and extremely enjoyable, filled with flavors of crushed tart red berries and cherries, accented by hints of leather, alongside very fine, beautifully integrated tannins. A great way to start the tasting.
2017 Gattinara Riserva: Fermented for 18–20 days in cement, aged for 36–40 months in large oak and an additional 10–12 months in bottle. Production is around 20,000 bottles per year. The nose is floral accented by aromas of smoke, white pepper, tar, and leather. Floral yet masculine at the same time. The palate is juicy and filled with flavors of licorice, roses, and tart cherry juice, with a smooth mouthfeel, and persistent finish. Very approachable and enjoyable now, but also structured and capable of aging.
2017 Gattinara Riserva Le Castelle: This single vineyard Gattinara comes from a small plot of just 1.5 hectares, a portion of which is located within the walls of an ancient castle and a portion just outside the walls. The vines here are the youngest of Antoniolo’s Nebbiolo vines at 45 years of age, and were replanted in the 1980s, though this is by no means young. Aging begins in barrique, before being moved to larger barrels. All wood is old/used, if they must use new wood, only 10 or 15% will be new, and only if the tannins are aggressive. The nose is fruit forward, filled with aromas of crushed red cherries, leather, strawberries, raspberries, licorice, some roses, with a touch of tar on the finish. There are no oak or wood sensations detectable on the nose despite the use of barriques. The palate delivers flavors of licorice, smoke, tobacco, crushed red cherries, and raspberries. Tannins are fine, velvety, well integrated, and are complemented by fresh acidity. Persistent finish.
Thank You
Thank you, Lorella, and the entire team at Antoniolo for showing us around your magnificent cellar, for spending so much time with us, and for sharing your incredible wine with us. Your wines are truly incredible, and it was such a pleasure meeting you. We hope to see you again very soon. Grazie mille! A presto!
Citation: https://www.skurnik.com/producer/antoniolo
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