The colour is deep ruby. On the nose, aroma of ripe amarena, blueberries and plums. In the mouth, bitter and astringent, a remarkable contrast to the intensely fruity nose. The aftertaste is rather short.
Gutturnio is a DOC of the hilly vineyards south of Piacenza, in western Emilia-Romagna. Barbera must account for 55-70% of the blend, with the lesser known Croatina contributing 30-45%.
This Gutturnio Superiore DOC is made by La Tosa with 60% Barbera and 40% Croatina grapes. It spent 7 months in third, fourth and fifth passage French barriques, to avoid imparting wood notes to the wine.
La Tosa is a winery located among the Colli Piacentini, which I visited in early August, during one of my wine discoveries tours with my son. This time we explored Oltrepò Pavese, Colli Piacentini and Terre del Lambrusco.
At La Tosa you can breath passion for wine, which to me is a very pleasant sensation. Our host has been Stefano Pizzamiglio, who owns and runs the winery with his brother.
Stefano is one of the most passionate winemakers I ever met. He has been intensely tasting wine since he turned drinking age, and he left the studies to become a medical doctor to pursue winemaking. I spent with him over 3 hours, sharing our common passion and views about wine and winemaking.
Stefano clearly explains every choice he makes, both in the vineyard and in the cellar. He makes biological wines and applies some of the principles of biodynamic, but he doesn’t go to extremes. He has high regard for nature, but he is well aware that wine is a product made by man for the enjoyment of man. As he says: “nature left by itself produce vinaigrette, not wine”.
You may agree with his philosophy or not (I personally do), but everything Stefano says and does makes sense and the wines he produced proves it. I tasted with him four wines: two whites and two reds. All were very well made, pleasant and harmonious, although I suspect he himself finds a few flaws, on which he constantly work to improve. The tasting included Vignamorello, which I found more exiting back then than now. Maybe it is this specific bottle, most likely it was the atmosphere at the winery.
For this bottle I paid 16 EUR at the winery. I also bought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for 13 EUR, and a Malvasia for 14 EUR, which I will drink in 10 years, since I’ve been reassured that it is a wine that ages very well.
Country: Italy
Region: Emilia-Romagna
Grapes: Barbera, Croatina/Bonarda
Type: Red
Vintage: 2019
Producer: La Tosa
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5