Proprietà Sperino: A Maestro’s Homecoming
In the world of Italian wine, Paolo De Marchi is royalty. He is the maestro of Chianti Classico, the man who, at his Tuscan estate Isole e Olena, spent 40 years helping to lead a quality revolution. But this isn’t a story about Tuscany. This is a story about home.
Paolo’s heart has always been tethered to a different set of hills: the Alpine foothills of Alto Piemonte, in the historic appellation of Lessona. This was his family’s ancestral estate, a place whose winemaking history was once as revered as any in Italy. In 1999, Paolo, along with his son Luca, returned to these cellars to fulfill a lifelong dream: the “re-birth” of his family’s origins.
The Legacy of Doctors and Vines
The Sperino family, relatives of the De Marchis, were a renowned dynasty of doctors in Turin. But they shared a passion for winemaking. In the 19th century, Casimiro Sperino, a celebrated surgeon, abandoned city life to dedicate himself to the vineyards of Lessona.
His son, Felice Sperino, also a doctor, was a serious ampelographer and a friend of Italy’s first grape classifier, the Count of Rovasenda. He was a pioneer, writing papers on lost grape varieties and leading the charge against Phylloxera with research into American rootstock grafting. When the property passed to the De Marchi family in the early 1900s, the winemaking became an amateur affair … until Paolo’s return, which brought with it the recovery of Felice’s ancient knowledge.
The Terroir: Lessona’s Golden Sands
This is not Barolo. The terroir here, in the shadow of the Alps, is unique in the world. The soil is the result of a super volcano explosion 300 million years ago, all churned up by the tectonic collision that formed the Alps.
What that means for the wine is everything. The Lessona vineyards are planted on Pliocene-era marine sands, mixed with glacial sediment, all resting on igneous rock. This soil is extremely acidic (pH 4.5-5.5), almost entirely lacking calcium, but incredibly rich in minerals like iron, manganese, and zinc, all available to the vine. This is the secret to Lessona’s magic: it doesn’t produce powerful, heavy wines, but rather Nebbiolo (locally called Spanna) of profound perfume, finesse, and a razor-sharp mineral elegance.
The flagship Lessona DOC is 100% Nebbiolo from the estate’s finest vineyards, including Ormeggio, Castagnola, and Covà. It’s fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts in open-topped wooden vats, macerates for weeks, and then ages for 33 months in barrel, followed by years of aging in bottle before release.
A Library Vertical: The Story of Time
What we have on offer today is a journey, direct from the Sperino family cellar to yours. This rare, winery-direct vertical is a masterclass in the evolution of Nebbiolo from one of the world’s most singular terroirs, crafted by one of its greatest masters.
- 2018 Proprietà Sperino Lessona After the dry 2017, the long, wet winter of 2018 replenished water reserves. A rainy spring was followed by a hot, dry late summer, allowing the grapes to mature fully. This was a bountiful vintage, producing fresh, floral, and immensely enjoyable wines. The tannic structure is slightly lighter, making this vintage a bit easier to drink sooner than others.
- 2015 Proprietà Sperino Lessona A memorable vintage. After a mild winter, the summer was one of the driest in the region’s history, with almost no rain from May to October. The sandy soils were stressed, but a cooler September allowed the grapes to reach excellent maturity. The wines are more concentrated and robust than usual, but that sandy minerality still provides an enviable, refreshing acidity.
- 2014 Proprietà Sperino Lessona A “classic” Alto Piemonte year. After an early, warm spring, the summer was one of the wettest on record. A mild September saved the harvest. This required a precise and strict sorting of the grapes, resulting in one of the shortest vintages ever in terms of quantity and structure. The result? Wonderfully aromatic, refined, and fragrant wines.
- 2013 Proprietà Sperino Lessona A damp and cold winter and spring delayed the entire growing season. The harvest was abundant, in sharp contrast to 2012. Because of the cool year, they chose not to exaggerate with maceration, favoring the aromatic part over tannins that might not have been perfectly ripe. This produced wines with vibrant mineral acidity, great aromatics, and a more delicate, fine body.
- 2012 Proprietà Sperino Lessona One of the hardest winters in memory (below -20°C). Spring hailstorms then significantly reduced production. A hot, dry summer was balanced by heavy September rainstorms, which restored freshness to the Nebbiolo. This was one of the most meager harvests, giving wines of great concentration, aromatic fineness, and a long, mineral aftertaste.
- 2010 Proprietà Sperino Lessona The legend. A “most classic” vintage. A cold, snowy winter was followed by a cool spring and summer, leading to an extraordinary and slow ripening of the grapes. The harvest was late but in ideal conditions. The result is a wine with aromatic complexity, maturity, fine tannins, and perfect freshness. Enjoyable when young, but extraordinary once aged.
- 2008 Proprietà Sperino Lessona This year started with a long, cold, and very rainy spring. Summer was late, but August brought dry weather and impressive temperature swings between day and night. A splendid autumn and a delayed harvest produced grapes with excellent raw materials, especially on the aromatic side.
This is more than just a wine offer; it’s an opportunity to acquire a piece of a legacy, to taste the dedication of a family who returned home to polish a forgotten gem. For anyone who loves Nebbiolo, or simply wine with a true sense of place, this is an unmissable event