OenoTrade launches with a taste of Gagliardo

“Gagliardo is part of an elite group of vintners that represents a new and exciting generation in Barolo.” Monica Larner, Wine Enthusiast magazine.

In October OenoTrade celebrated its recent launch with a tasting of Poderi Gianni Gagliardo’s exceptional Barolo and Barbera d’Alba wines. The event was hosted at New Street Wine by Stefano Gagliardo, one of the trio of brothers who took over the running of the estate from their father Gianni in 2000.

The tasting began with the Gianni Gagliardo Roero Arneis 2018, a deliciously fresh white made from the Arneis grape which ages on the lees for 5 months. Next up was a pair of young and lively red wines, the estate’s Dolcetto d’Alba Paulin 2017 and Barbera d’Alba Madama 2017 which are both made with the simple pleasure of drinking in mind.

From here we moved to what Stefano describes as his “intellectual wines”, a carefully-curated selection of top Poderi Gianni Gagliardo Barolos. Stefano is quick to point out that “if you run even 500 metres from one vineyard on the estate to another, it is like entering another world” due to the diversity of soil conditions, microclimates, and landscapes.

One of these worlds is “Serre”, an east-facing vineyard which enjoys very cool nights even during summer. The Barolo wines made here tend to be delicately perfumed and fragrant like the Serre 2005 which has a distinctive balsamic character along with exotic notes of incense.

For Stefano, “part of the fun of Barolo is that Nebbiolo takes the shape of the vintage and the terroir”. The Serre 2006 is the product of a warmer vintage which has given the wine plenty of structure, tannins, and brooding dark fruit character. It’s a seriously impressive wine which was awarded 94 points by James Suckling when he tasted it in 2017.

Stefano also brought along his masterful and extremely limited production Serra dei Turchi 2015. The family just made one 228 litre barrel of the first vintage of this wine which was aged for 33 months and then bottled as 130 magnums. The wine has special significance to the family as it is dedicated to the founder of the estate and grandfather of the three brothers, Paolo Colla, who produced his first Barolo on the Serra dei Turchi hill in the commune of La Morra.

For Stefano, at the heart of the Gagliardo philosophy is making wines to be enjoyed and shared with loved ones. In his words, when you open and drink a fine wine “the mask falls off, allowing you to become your true self and creating real truth within people”. It is this truth and authenticity which shines bright in Gagliardo’s wines, making them a pleasure to drink as much as to collect in one’s cellar.

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