Proprieta Sperino Lessona 2005

Isole e Olena owner Paolo di Marchi is looking back to his family's winemaking roots in Alto Piedmonte. This brilliant 8.5 hectare hillside estate is situated in the small town of Lessona, near Biella in northern Piemonte. It passed into the De Marchi family through their relative, Felice Sperino, a passionate viticulturist and professor in Turin and Paolo took over the Sperino estate in 1999 with dreams of revitalising the property and realising the dream of returning to his family’s origins. 

Paolo farms his vines from the regions Pliocene marine sands at around 300 metres above sea level. The varieties are Nebbiolo for the Lessona DOC, with the addition of Vespolina and Croatina for the Uvaggio Costa della Sesia DOC. The wines are consistently superb and very Burgundian in style, light in colour yet intense, scented and long. 

Tasting Note:
The Lessona is majestic. Made solely from Nebbiolo, it is intense yet velvety, thanks to the soil in this zone that yields softer tannins in the grapes than those found in Nebbiolo from the Langhe. The finest, mineral and aromatic side of Nebbiolo: perfumed with aromas of wild berries, violets and a touch of smoky spice from the oak ageing. Its lifted acidity is balanced by ripe, delicate fruit and lovely raspberry fruit on the finish.