2011 Proprieta Sperino Lessona 750 ml

A Sanity Check in Piedmont

This is the strangest of stories, one that began with concern for our friend Paolo di Marchi’s sanity. It was the summer of 2001, and we had met Paolo in Piedmont, not at Isole e Olena in Tuscany. We drove east from the town of Biella in Paolo’s white Toyota, slaloming through the hills on our way to the once proud but now forgotten winemaking town of Lessona.  

We stopped multiple times en route, with Paolo abruptly pulling over to the side of the road, bouncing out, only to scoop and show us the sandy, reddish soil on a knoll or hillside.  That seemed a little strange.  But when we finally pulled into the sleepy town, toured the humid cellars where Nebbiolo had once been made, then pushed into di Marchi’s grandmother’s abandoned house, through the library and into the kitchen, we honestly thought that our Italian friend had a few screws loose.

In a kitchen filled with cobwebs, it was as if time had stood still for decades. The calendar on the kitchen wall, above the small table where Paolo’s grandmother no doubt took her morning coffee, was opened to a brittle page: July, 1906.

We thought of calling Marta, Paolo’s Uruguayan wife, to see how long this behavior had been going on. Were there any other troubling signs and odd behavior? Was Tuscany’s most brilliant winegrower, a guy who had taken Isole e Olena from a worthless rock pile in the early 1970s to the front pages of Wine Spectator, losing his marbles?

Not even close. Paolo, working with his son Luca, was about to re-introduce the wine world to the grandeur of Lessona. The visit to that cobweb-filled kitchen helped us understand the history Paolo was rewriting.

It is here where Italy’s most stunning answer to Grand Cru red Burgundy is grown. As Paolo explained, during the 19th century, Lessona and Gattinara were considered the top winegrowing regions in Piedmont, regularly outperforming Barolo and Barbaresco. But due to a combination of factors — a more challenging microclimate (cooler and far more humid than Barolo), several economic crises, and finally, the ravaging of Nebbiolo vines by the aphid-like pest, Phylloxera — nearly every vineyard in Lessona had been abandoned. Of the 100,000 acres that had once been planted, only 50 remained! But just as he had done at Isole e Olena with Cepparello, Paolo would soon have the world’s attention on this tiny zone in the Biellese foothills.

When the first vintages rolled out, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate was quick to dole out 94- and 95-point scores for Paolo’s 2007 and 2008 vintages, respectively. Paolo didn’t take his foot off the gas in 2009 or 2010, earning 94- and 94+ point mentions from Antonio Galloni for his bright, wildly aromatic Nebbiolos. Still, today’s 2011 raises the bar EVEN HIGHER.

2011 brought a short crop throughout Piedmont, yielding tiny, massively concentrated berries at di Marchi’s estate vineyards. The call to harvest came on September 26th, and by October 7th, the Nebbiolo was pressed and being gravity-fed into the wooden tanks at Proprieta Sperino. The sandy, mineral-rich soils Paolo had been so obsessed with on our drive to Lessona had produced a knockout Nebbiolo — rich and juicy, yet “weightless” like a top-notch Chambolle-Musigny.

Deep, dark ruby in the glass, di Marchi’s 100% Nebbiolo shows mind-boggling aromas of rose petal, dark cherry, mint, anise, and new leather. The palate is lush and juicy, while beautifully finessed, packed with raspberry, plum, and earthy minerality. Smooth, silky tannins buttress the dense fruit core, while saline notes add an enticing freshness. Handsome dividends will be paid to those with the patience to let this rest for three years in a cool, dark cellar, and even more to those who can forget about it for a decade or more.

Wine Enthusiast stacked up 96 points for this “gorgeous red,” a “Cellar Selection.” We expect more of the same from Parker and Galloni when their reviews hit the press. Just 120 bottles up for grabs after a short crop in Piedmont. $80 on release. $155/bottle at Quince in San Francisco. Just $59.99 today, only on WineAccess.