Gamba Rossa

Gamba Rossa means red leg, and the leg belongs to a partridge. Better known for centuries as Gamba di Pernice, the variety takes its name from its bright red stalk, which recalls the red legs of the partridge, and it joins Piedirosso and Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso among Italy’s grapes named for the same feature. It also has an uncanny knack for aging.

A disputed name Gamba Rossa was only recently selected as the official name in the National Registry, which is surprising, since academic and local usage has always been Gamba di Pernice. Producers in the Calosso area were understandably annoyed, and now label their wine Calosso rather than gamba di pernice, partly to shore up the link with the variety’s historic zone. It is also called Pernicine, and Neretto di Alteno in the Saluzzese.

Not the other partridge grapes Despite the shared imagery, Gamba di Pernice is a distinct variety from the other red-stalked grapes, and distinct from Malbec, which in France is also called Pied de Perdrix or Oeil de Perdrix. D’Agata notes a second identifying feature beyond the stalk: the leaves turn yellowish in autumn rather than red.

Trained up trees Alteno means trained to living supports such as trees, and that system was surprisingly common around Alba, Pinerolo, Saluzzo and Turin between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It may explain the variety’s low reputation: a vine hidden from sunlight by the tree carrying it can hardly ripen properly. Nuvolone placed Gamba di Pernice among second-tier grapes in 1798, best blended with better ones.

In the vineyard The variety has moderate anthocyanin concentrations, with malvin accounting for 25 per cent of the total and the acylated forms also low. Because those two stable forms are scarce relative to the much less stable cyanin and delphinin, the wines reach only medium hues. It ripens late and carries a compact bunch, so botrytis is a constant threat in wet autumns; opening the bunches up earlier in the season is the key to clean wine.

Selection work The few specialised vineyards are planted from massal selections, but Valter Bosticardo of Tenuta dei Fiori, one of the two most important producers, has selected ten different clones over the years, now being assessed for viticultural behaviour and winemaking potential. The variety grows mainly in the province of Asti, around Calosso and Costigliole d’Asti, with a little in the Saluzzese around Costigliole Saluzzo.

Appearance and structure All well-made Gamba di Pernice is medium-bodied, balanced and refined, and never a blockbuster. There is a technical wrinkle worth knowing: the variety is high in malic and low in tartaric acid, so malolactic fermentation risks leaving the wine short of acidity. Locals welcome the resulting softness as a contrast to Barbera’s almost eye-watering shrillness.

Aromatic profile Young wines show a bright medium ruby with very fresh floral and red-berry aromas. At five years and older the colour moves to amber-red and the aromatics turn spicy and peppery, with tarry and balsamic notes. That transformation is substantial, and it is what separates this grape from the many pleasant, forgettable Piedmontese reds.

In the cellar The wine is made as Calosso DOC, requiring a minimum 90 per cent of the variety, and as varietal bottlings under the Gamba di Pernice name. Several producers make excellent monovarietal wines. Given the malic acid issue, the handling of malolactic fermentation is the most consequential cellar decision.

Key expressions

• Calosso DOC, at a minimum 90 per cent, from the variety’s historic zone.
• Monovarietal bottlings labelled Gamba di Pernice.
• Older vintages, where the spicy, tarry, balsamic register emerges.
• Wines from the massal-selected vineyards around Costigliole d’Asti.

The question of aging This is the surprise. For a medium-bodied red of moderate colour, Gamba di Pernice ages remarkably: D’Agata reports a 1990 Tenuta dei Fiori still splendid at the time of writing. The shift from fresh floral red fruit to spice, pepper, tar and balsamic happens from around five years and continues for a long time afterwards. Few obscure Piedmontese reds do anything comparable.

At the table Its balance and medium weight make it unusually versatile, matching everything from lighter white-meat preparations to slow-cooked, concentrated beef stews. The softer acidity helps where Barbera would fight the dish. Serve it around seventeen degrees.

Why it matters Gamba di Pernice spent two centuries classified as a second-tier grape, largely because it was trained up trees where it could not ripen. Grown properly it gives a refined, genuinely long-lived red from a corner of Asti nobody associates with ageworthy wine. The renaming to Gamba Rossa, against all local usage, is a small injustice on top of an old one.