Propieta Sperino Coste delle Seisia Uvaggio 2013

Winemaking is a tradition that gets carefully passed from generation to generation. In the case of Proprietà Sperino, a couple of those generations were skipped but Paolo and Luca de Marchi are now the stewards of a 200 year old tradition and are making some of the most exciting wine in the world.

Their ancestor, Dr Felice Sperino, stopped making wine in 1904 in Lessona, in the very shadow of the Alps, an hour and half northwest of Milano. In the 18th and 19th century, this area of northern Piemonte was the very center of fine wine in Italy. In the fine, silty, yellow sand of Lessona, Felice and his ancestors grew and made world-class Nebbiolo-based wines, the famed grape of Barolo and Barbaresco.

The 2013 Uvaggio from the “new”regime of Proprietà Sperino is so unique in the world of Italian wine. It has incredible balance, with sweet, pure fruit yet it is framed by a mineral structure and sense of salinity that is utterly distinctive. It’s a wine that seemingly has one foot in Burgundy and one in Piedmont, I believe lovers of either wines will be new converts to the very old charms of Lessona. Just look at what the Wine Advocate wrote about it– it’s longer than most essays I’ve ever written:

“This wine is named Uvaggio in reference to the fact it represents a blend of three grapes: 80% Nebbiolo, 15% Vespolina and 5% Croatina. Some of the fruit for the 2013 Coste della Sesia Uvaggio is harvested from parcels with sandy soils that give the wine more perfumed characteristics and other fruit is harvested from granite-rich soils that give the wine more structure and fiber. This is a deep and authentic red wine with balanced red fruit aromas that saturate a long and silky mouthfeel. Savory tones of spice and leather give the wine staying power. In all, the 2013 vintage is delicate and nuanced in nature. This property is managed by Luca and his father Paolo De Marchi (of Isole e Olena in Chianti Classico). It sits at a fascinating spot just at the base of the Italian Alps in a place characterized by one of the most dramatic altitude ascents in Italy. Those mighty mountains rise like a veritable wall causing violent exchanges between hot and cold air. In fact, Luca tells me that this is one of the most hail-prone spots in Italy and frequent storms have wiped out many promising vintages in the past. The property’s soils have loose grains of yellow sand that impart elegant mineral characteristics to the wines.”