By Nicholas Harary
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 now Paolo and Luca de Marchi are the stewards of a 200- year-old tradition and are making some of the most exciting wine in the world.
Sperino is 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 Piedmont was the very center of fine wine in Italy. In the silty, yellow sand of Lessona, they grew and made world-class Nebbiolo-based wines, the famed grape of Barolo and Barbaresco. But right around the turn of the 20th century, people started to abandon the vineyards of northern Piemonte.
The reasons are many: two world wars, mass migration of people, the industrial resurgence in and around Milan. For a poor farmer, it became silly to grow grapes in an Alpine climate when you could earn double working for Fiat! So, in 1904, Sperino made its last vintage of wine and Lessona was regulated to the dusty pages of old wine books. That is until 2004, when Paolo and Luca reopened their ancestor Felice’s estate and reintroduced the world to the seductive wines of Lessona.
The 2010 Uvaggio from the new regime of Proprietà Sperino is the best vintage I’ve tasted from this incredible estate. What makes Uvaggio so unique in the world of Italian wine is the balance of its fruit, sweet and pure, like great Pinot Noir with its mineral structure and length, which speaks more to the wines from its more famous neighbors to the south, Barolo and Barbaresco. 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. This is 20-year wine; at the very least, don’t miss this classic in the making, Sperino Uvaggio 2010.
The Wine
In the shadow of the Alps, Lessona is a magical growing area with fine, sandy, mineral-laden soils, producing wines of incredible finesse and with ample potential for long life. It’s the most curious wine in Italy, fruit like the best of Vosne Romaneé with a minerality and firm finish that screams Nebbiolo. The Uvaggio is a beautiful, highly polished, floral, fruit-forward rendition of Nebbiolo that will be the perfect match with a wide variety of food, from salmon with lentils to roasted chicken to grilled beef. It’s one of the most food friendly wines we’ve ever offered.
To order, log onto www.restaurantnicholas.com.
Restaurant Nicholas, located in Red Bank, is New Jersey’s highest Zagat rated restaurant (2006-present). Nicholas Wines is an online retail wine store that commits to storing wine at 56 degrees and ships nationwide.
