Nervi is the oldest estate in Gattinara, founded in 1906, with 28.5 hectares across the appellation's best sites. Roberto Conterno purchased it in 2018 because he believed, and had told the previous owner as much, that it was impossible not to make great wine there. He built a new cellar, equipped it identically to Giacomo Conterno in Monforte, and retained Enrico Fileppo, who had been making Gattinara for more than thirty vintages.

The winemaking follows the same principles Roberto applies in Barolo: three to four week macerations, long elevage, bottling between thirty and thirty-four months. The cru wines spend a further year in bottle before release. The approach is deliberate and unhurried, and the investment in the cellar has been substantial.

Gattinara sits 150 kilometres north of Barolo. The soils are volcanic rather than limestone, high in iron and very free-draining. The climate runs cooler, harvests arrive later, and the wines that result are tighter and more mineral than their Langhe counterparts. Roberto considers this an advantage, especially as growing seasons warm. He shows the Gattinaras alongside his Baroli. They hold their own.

The range comprises three Gattinara bottlings. Molsino is a south-facing amphitheatre that ripens early and produces the fullest wine of the three. Valferana faces away, ripens later, and tends toward precision over weight. The classico draws on fruit from Garavoglie and Casacce, with some declassified wine from both crus. All three are 100% Nebbiolo, from some of the oldest documented vineyard sites in Piedmont.