Proprieta Sperino Uvaggio Coste della Sesia Rosso
This splendid 7.7-hectare hillside estate is situated in the small town of Lessona, near Biella in northern Piemonte. Paolo De Marchi, the owner of top Chianti Classico estate Isole e Olena, inherited Proprietà Sperino from his grandfather, Felice Sperino, a passionate viticulturist and professor in Turin. Since the 1970s, Paolo has dreamed of revitalising the Sperino estate, a dream that has come to fruition with the help of his elder son, Luca, who now runs the estate and makes the wines with Paolo's guidance.
Grapes for this wine were grown in the Ormeggio, Castagnola and Belvedere vineyards in Lessona in the Orolungo region. The altitude is between 290-350 metres above sea level. Soils are sandy and acidic (pH 4.5 - 5.5) and rich in minerals and trace elements including iron, manganese, aluminium and zinc. The high acidity (pH 4.5-5.5) of the soil makes these minerals more available to the vines. Some fruit was also sourced from the 35-year-old Madonna Degli Angeli vineyard in Brusnengo in the Forte region which is included in the Bramaterra D.O.C. The soils in Lessona are unique: they have originated from a super-volcano explosion 280 million years ago, which was then covered by the sea before resurfacing with the formation of the Alps. This left in Lessona marine sands from the Pliocene period (known as “Ori di Lessona”) on an igneous rock subsoil, mixed with more recent glacial sediment.
On arrival at the winery, the fruit was sorted while on the conveyor belt, then destemmed and gently pressed. The wines were vinified in the old, gravity-fed cellar which dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. Fermentation took place in relatively small, open, upright oak casks with wild yeasts. Maceration lasted 25 days with regular punching down of the cap. The wine was aged in a mixture of new and old barriques (225 litres), puncheons (500 litres) and 15 hectolitre casks for 23 months, the first eight of which were on the lees.
Vibrant ruby red in the glass, this wine has a very floral nose. The lifted palate is packed with attractive red fruit and has great texture thanks to the supple, approachable tannins and good acidity. More savoury and mineral notes come through on the long finish.
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