DELICATE REDS

Nervi Vigneto Molsino Gattinara 2009

The world-famous nebbiolo grape of Barolo finds a more heady expression in this satiny singlevineyard bottling from Gattinara in the upper part of Piemonte, or Piedmont in English. With a jellied, luscious texture amplified by big, plush cabbage roses and summer strawberries, this is almost overflowing with fragrance.

Didier Gerbelle Torrette Superieur 2014

The Torrette wine of Valle d’aosta is built mainly on the local petit rouge, a ruby-coloured, light-footed red that can be like catnip for the natural-wine lover. This one has a wholesomely rustic quality, with piercing, angular red fruit and thorny tannins that will happily lap up a plate of fatty cold cuts.

Cianfagna “Sator” Tintilia del Molise 2013

Tintilia, the treasured grape of Molise, the tiny mountainous region squished on the Adriatic coast between Puglia and Abruzzo, is dark and staining in its youth but gains in nuance and depth with maturity. Its crumpled, silky strawberry fruit is laced with soy, mushrooms and medicinal herbs, with relatively soft flesh buttressed by still-firm tannins. something extraordinary out of the local rossese grape grown at altitude (600m). It’s sometimes overly rustic in character, but this example manages to layer a lucent, shimmering glaze of tart cherry fruit over an earthy mix of dried sage and brothy savouriness. The nose is seductive with hints of torrone and dried sage.

Paternoster Don Anselmo 2013