Gattinara Mauro Franchino, 2018

I discovered this wonderful wine on the revered wine list at the River Café.  It is very hard to remove wines from the RC list as long-standing customers complain, so to add a completely new wine takes real star quality! 

This tiny, three-hectare estate is firmly in the control of Mauro Franchino and he produces around 400 cases in a normal year. Although Barolo and Barbaresco have the reputation, Gattinara is in the heart of the Langhe and produces ethereal Nebbiolo wines without the price or craziness surrounding the more famous examples.

Mauro's vineyards are centrally located and mostly just to the west of the famous tower you see on bottles (see right). The qualities Mauro brings to his winemaking produce fragrant wines with great structure.  Stock is a touch limited, so this is first come, first served.