Thanks so much, all! I recently picked up some bottles of Produttori Langhe Nebbiolo, Vietti Perbacco, and GD Vajra Barolo Albe, so I’m happy to see some overlap in these suggestions and I’m excited to try out more.
I’m using wine.com when I can right now, as I’m a stewardship member and just found some 50 off 150 promo codes. That said, I’m seeing a Vallana Gattinara 2009 in stock. Is that a good Vallana to start with, if I’m wanting to see what they’re all about?
I don’t know if it will tell you what they are all about, but I doubt you could go wrong with the 2009 Vallana Gattinara. It has a few years on it now and should be drinking well with some air. I buy the Gattinara, Boca and Campi Raudii in almost every vintage.
Don’t think too much about it at this point. Buy a mixed case of suggestions from this or other threads and see what you like best. The risk is low.
Thanks Todd. Very helpful list! I’ve probably had a bit more than half, but definitely some new names/bottlings to me.
RT
They also carry the 2019 Elio Grasso Langhe Nebbiolo Gavarini. Theirs is already the lowest price on W-S before discounts, but absurdly low after. A recent bottle showed extremely young, as expected, but shows excellent potential.
Along with the big-time shout-outs to Vallana:
Sassela
Grumello
Inferno
Reasonable availability in your price range and good, sometimes sensational quality.
Dan Kravitz
If you can find it, Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo D’alba Valmaggiore is spectacular.
Having the 2015 Roagna Langhe right now. It is about as good as it gets for Langhe Nebbiolo (technically Langhe Rosso, although all Nebbiolo)
Some of the best wines around even quite regardless of the QPR, but I’m kind of wondering if these would really do the trick for people looking for Barolo lookalikes?
Generally, I feel it is really hard to scratch that Barolo itch outside the Langhe. To me, at least, Nebbiolo from elsewhere normally tastes nothing like a Barolo.
Giuseppe Mascarello’s Langhe Neb is lovely and a bit lighter than some expressions. Not too expensive in the UK and a top name.
I think Benevelli and Davide Fregonese are both overlooked names in Barolo and underpriced for the quality
Probably not.
I don’t believe in look alikes. There are no burgundies outside of burgundy. But in this case you do get many of the beautiful qualities of nebbiolo, and wines that can perform similar food magic.
Having the 2014 Roagna Langhe right now. Beautiful! 
I opened one of these Friday night. So good.
Another Nebbiolo lover but frustrated with Langhe, It’s too light and lacks the punch and depth of a Barolo.
I bought a few 2015 Travalgini’s. Opened the first one a year ago and it was a tannic acid monster, so waiting a few more years to open another.
Wine.com is out of a lot of the suggestions such as Perbacco.
I am not giving up but it’s a tough road.
For me it’s the pricing. Hard to find decent Langhe Nebbiolo for under about $17-$19, and many run to $30. Yet for $30(ish) you can find lots of entry level Barolo/Barbaresco options that I usually would enjoy more, including many mentioned in this thread (Kirkland Signature for $20; Fontanafredda for $32, La Ca Nova Barbaresco for $27 (or the crus for $33), Vajra Albe for $32, etc…)
I will say that I often look for Langhe Nebbiolo on restaurant wine lists, as they are generally enjoyable enough with food, and I’d usually rather avoid paying the 2.5X markup on a Barolo that retails for $45-$50 (vs. a Langhe that retails for $17). On a restaurant list that may mean the difference between $130 and $42…I’d rather save the difference and use it to buy 3 bottles of La Ca Nova’s cru Barbarescos for consumption at home!
Not to rub it in too much…
I got my 15/16 Fontanafredde for €16/$19
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Between the awkward bottle size (tough to fit in a cellar rack), the pricing (which isn’t “cheap” by any stretch, at least in my market where they’re in the $37 range), and my mixed experience with the wines (i.e. they can be quite good in some vintages, but I don’t find them to be consistently excellent), I’ve mostly given up on Travaglini as a solid QPR version of Nebbiolo, let alone as a substitute for entry-level Barolo.
Actually, mine is the Serralunga, as that’s what Costco typically has for $33 (though, admittedly, it’s usually closer to $40 in our local retail shops other than Costco). If yours is the bluish-silver label, that’s typically about $8 less in the U.S., which makes your pricing quite good…but unbelievably good if it’s the Serralunga.
Non e la serralunga, ma il normale. In ogni caso ha un ottimo sapore
haven’t had it recently, but always loved the Di Gresy Martinenga Nebbiolo
Caves Coopératives de Donnas Donnas
also, look to Roero