2015 Travaglini Il Sogno Rosso Piedmont

The Travaglini family has owned land in Gattinara since the beginning of the 19th century. The vines here are some of the most spectacular in the world, overlooking the Alps. The family farmed a few hectares of land and produced wine for local consumption. The small winery started with Clemente Travaglini, who was succeeded by his son Arturo. It was not until 1958 however, when Arturo’s son, Giancarlo, established the eponymous Travaglini Estate Winery. It was Giancarlo who recognized a greater potential in Gattinara and executed groundbreaking changes in his vineyards and cellar, unseen before in the appellation. He pioneered research into improving viticultural methods, such as high-density planting, 100% hand-harvesting, and Guyot vine training; today commonly practiced throughout the Appellation. His passion for Nebbiolo helped raise the profile of Gattinara, a commitment that has been carried on through the generations.

Driven by a passion for exceptional Nebbiolo, the Travaglini family has been producing remarkable, limited-production wines from their eponymous estate in Gattinara for four generations. Gattinara plays an important role in Italian viticulture, but until a couple of decades after the turn of the century, this beautiful region of Alto Piemonte was nearly forgotten. A winemaking region older than Barolo, Gattinara covered almost 600 hectares by the end of the 1800s, making it one of the largest in Northern Europe. The phylloxera plague, coupled with a devastating hail storm in 1905, completely destroyed the region, and wine production in Gattinara was abandoned.

This small appellation lies in the rocky foothills of the Monte Rosa range, where ventilating winds blow down from the nearby Alps. Soils are rocky and rich in porphyry, granite, and iron, imparting a reddish color in the soil. Similar in composition to the Alps, Monte Rosa’s sedimentary rocks is highly acidic, due to low levels of calcium carbonate and magnesium, and an absence of calcium. Vines grown in this rare soil produce grapes with a unique flavor profile, as well as high acidity and tannins. Its northern, mountainous location experiences a continental climate, with very cold winters, warm, sunny summers, and a strong diurnal temperature shift.

If you love Nebbiolo, you must try the Nebbiolo that is grown in the foothills of the Alps. The northern versions in and around Carema and Gattinara are the most Pinot Noir-esque in that they are more refined, lighter in body, with redolent elegance.

The Travaglini family owns an expansive 59 hectares of vineyards, with 55 hectares dedicated primarily to Nebbiolo vines, accounting for nearly half of the Gattinara DOCG region. A small section of these old vines is planted with native varieties Vespolina and Bonarda. Notably, Travaglini is the sole winery in northern Piedmont producing an "Amarone-style" wine. In tribute to the winery’s founder, Giancarlo, they named it Il Sogno, which translates to "The Dream."

Aging: 40 months in used oak barrels.