What are some particular wines I should look out for with which he was involved?
He is a partner in both Colombera & Garella and Le Pianelle and works as an advisor to over a dozen more.
What are you thoughts on the non-Nebbiolo reds of the region (Vespolina, Croatina, etc.)? Any stands outs?
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Le Piane Rosso 2011 (100% Croatina) was superb a few years back.
However, the 2017 vintage of the same wine was surprisingly soft and marmaladey in character, so there is definitely some vintage variation.
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I like Vespolina. I think the ones from Barbaglia, Boniperti, C&G, and Platenetti Guido are all very good. I haven’t had the Davide Carlone Vespolina, but my guess would be that it is top notch.
Platenetti Guido makes a Barbera and a red blend, Guido, from old Maggiorina trained blend of vines (it includes Merlot vines!) that I found delicious. I haven’t seen it in the US though.
Croatina is a grape better suited to blends, IMO. Davide Carlone makes the best I’ve tried.
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Try tracking down some of the wines he made for Sella cca 2001-2011 (I forget exactly when he started and when he left, but it was roughly this time frame: if Oliver chimes in, he will know specifically), that was an incredible streak.
For something quite different, perhaps a little less well-known, and about 1300km further south, Ciro Biondi also used to work with Cristiano in the early days. I sometimes think that the grace, perfume, and exceptionally fine mouthfeel of Ciro’s wines today can in some part be credited to those early exchanges.
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What does the CCA stand for? Thanks.
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Sorry… “c.”, “cca.”, “ca.”, as in “circa”, “around, approximately”.
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Chris, if you haven’t tried it, the Cantalupo Villa Horta is a nice Vespolina for around $20 here in OR.
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Tvrtko, I think that’s about right. I just drank an '04 San Sebastiano Lessona from Sella, it was lovely. Cristiano Garella is a pistol, the region is very lucky to have him as a producer and ambassador.
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There’s just something about that vineyard, isn’t there?
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There is, or at least there was. Haven’t had the wine lately.
I think they might be sorting themselves out. Not 100% yet, but I’ll let you know what I think in a couple of years 
I’d love to try that but I don’t find a listing on Wine Searcher anyplace in the US.
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Speaking of Croatina as a blending grape… (and drifting this thread even further away from Barolo/Barbaresco)
I had the 2012 La Stoppa Machionna, a 50/50 blend of Barbera and Bonarda(Croatina). I thought the Barbera and the Croatina complemented each other well. The wine had a nice acidity, a touch of tannin, some good dark cherry fruit, and an interesting finish of salt, iodine, and ferrous minerality.
I listened to an interview Cristiano Garella did with Levi Dalton several years ago, where Garella described the flavor of Croatina as “bloody,” and I definitely think I perceived that in this wine.
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Yes, their style has changed. Although Luigi Scavino was considered one of the Barolo Boys from the 90s, his Riserva from Bricco Voghera, Cerretta and Margheria are all aged in botti. When I first started visiting in 2014, the San Rocco was aged in a small percentage of used barrique, but now they are all aged in botti. I find their winemaking now to be impeccably classic. I recently drank their 2001 Riserva which I considered to be the finest bottle of Barolo I have ever drunk. And I have drank through several of their 2008s from Margheria and San Rocco at a local restaurant in Serralunga that were drinking extremely well.
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Try Liner & Elsen in Portland.
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I’ve been on a pretty good shopping spree over this thread and have not bought any Barolo/Barbaresco!
2019 Cantalupo Agamium (know this is a great value Collina Novaresi).
2006 Cantalupo Collis Breclemae (good backfill)
2016 Monsecco Pratogrande (also a great value Collina Novarsesi).
2015 Donnas (new for me)
2015/16/18 Ferrando Etichetta Bianco
2017 Antoniotti Bramaterra (one of the greats).
2011 Castello di Conti Boca (The Conti sisters are doing great things and Alto Piemonte shines when the Langhe is too hot.).
2015 Noah Bramaterra (a notable newcomer to watch).
2013 Rovellotti Ghemme Chioso del Pomi
Tonight, I had my first Valtellina: 2019 Pizzo Coca Valtellina “Rino.” Founded by Lorenzo Mazzucconi in 2015, he also raises bees, chickens, sheep, and donkeys, aiming to be self-sufficient. My kind of guy. He also makes a Grumello and Inferno. This is a blend from both vineyards, named after the 90 yr. old vineyard owner. Wow, I love this wine. Killer nose of dark cherries, fresh roses, fresh leather. Plenty of body and tannins. Nothing “thin” about it. It could easily hold it’s own in a taste off with Barbaresco challengers. Enjoyable now but too young. I opened it for the betterment of this thread and humanity in general. I have no idea how this compares to an Ar.Pe.Pe except that it is the same price as their Rosso (about $39). His Rosso is $32.
Another source says: “Hand harvested off the very old Puste vineyard. De-stemmed and a natural fermentation in stainless steel. Longer maceration of about 25 days for harmonization. Maturation for about 12 months in neutral barrels (225-500L) that were not toasted, from French and Slovenian oak. Bottled without fining or filtration and very low levels of SO2. 6 months aging in bottle prior to release.”
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2018 Ferrando Etichetta Bianco was drinking beautifully last week. So fragrant, red-fruited, and light-footed. Yum.
2018 Castello di Conti Boca also showed really well last week (darker fruited than the Ferrando and it had this nice, peppery kick that I’m guessing came from the Vespolina), as did the 2015 Rovellotti Ghemme Riserva Costa del Salmino (tannins already felt resolved).
2019 Conterno-Nervi Gattinara was also interesting and good. Very concentrated, very dark fruited, perhaps trying too hard to be “very important and serious wine,” but I liked it. Pricy though – I believe this is the first vintage with Conterno completely in charge – and perhaps not for Alto Piemonte purists who want wines that are more finessed and lacy.
I also managed to secure some '06 Cantalupo Breclemae from what I think was the same source as yours the week before last. Small world! (I also picked up '17 Antoniotti Bramaterra this weekend – I’m interested in tasting firsthand how good '17 is in the Alto Piemonte).
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Ah! i was looking for this thread a couple of weeks ago!
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