1996 Petterino Gattinara

Community Tasting Notes (10) Avg Score: 90 points

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  10/17/2019 - JWG wrote: 92 Points

  Still coming on strong. My last bottle, though it is still riding high. Nose is fabulous classic nebbiolo tar and floral. Palate is bright given its age, with still good acidity. The dominant flavors are cherry and smoke which give it a richness that is a delight. It still has a bit of tannic backbone, but chances are it should be drunk in the next year or two to be still great.

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  6/3/2017 - JWG wrote: 92 Points

  Didn't take notes at the time, but showed a substantial nebbiolo nose, and a dark palate showing its age and good breeding. Still in very good shape and can go on for a while.

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  1/26/2015 - RichardsFLX wrote: 88 Points

  I want to like this more. Might be in a weird spot in it's evolution. The nose is promising: bright tart fruit and river bed rocks. I find the palate dominated by a saline quality that blanket's the fruit. There's nice structure and the wine is interesting, but seems disjointed.

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  2/22/2014 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Can't believe it took me so long to try Petterino. Huge Gattinara fan here and there are some smart folk who've said Petterino is the bees knees. This must be a recent release since it has those newfangled DOCG tags despite being a '96. It is very developed just the same, at least in the flavor department (there is still a firmness to its structure). It is essentially fruitless--well, it still has the fleshiness of its fruit but not the taste, unless the fruit is some mutant cross-breed like the nebbiolo version of Homer Simpson's tomacco(tm). (Tobacciolo? Nebbacco?) Anyway, in addition to that "I can't believe I smoked the whole box of Cubans" flavor it also has a savory, broth quality and the expected Gattinara lava rock. This is really packed with personality, although I would definitely peg it as a love-it-or-hate-it wine--not everyone can deal with this much stuff that's not fruit. I drank it over two days and much preferred it the second when all those flavors were even stronger and more steeped in, and the texture more refined, almost silky, much like an old Burgundy in fact--elegance and funk in one.

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  1/29/2014 - RichardsFLX wrote: 88 Points

  Very youthful, pretty wine. Would never guess 1996. It's still quite primary with a good foundation of earth beneath bright cherry notes. Hints of roses and tar, but these are way in the background. The structure moves from bright acidity on the front of the palate and then becomes more tannin focused on the back. Overall a nice (if a bit simple) wine, wish it cost a bit less.

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