Proprietà Sperino, Bramaterra
Vintage: 2019
| Vintage | Product Code | Format | Closure | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | SP410B19 | 6 x 75 | Natural Cork | Available |
Producer
Proprietà Sperino is a splendid,12-hectare hillside estate in the small town of Lessona, near Biella in northern Piemonte. Here, the soils were formed over 300 million years ago by the explosion of a supervolcano, creating sandy soils known as “ori di Lessona (Lessona’s gold), which are rich in minerals, particularly manganese and iron. The soil’s extremely low pH (one of the lowest in the wine world) allows the Nebbiolo vines to take on the marked minerality that Lessona is famed for. The wines of Proprietà Sperino are consistently superb, embracing a Burgundian style that is fragrant yet intense.
The estate was inherited by the De Marchi family (who previously owned the top Chianti Classico estate, Isole e Olena) through their relative, Felice Sperino, a passionate viticulturist and professor in Turin. Since the 1970s, Paolo De Marchi dreamed of revitalising Proprietà Sperino. This dream was eventually realised with the help of his son Luca, who now runs the estate and makes the wines with Paolo’s guidance.
Their ‘Rosa del Rosa’ Rosato is a lovely Nebbiolo rosé with a mineral and savoury character. The ‘Uvaggio’, a blend of Nebbiolo, Vespolina and Croatina, is supple yet grainy with a hint of roses on the finish. The Lessona is majestic. Made solely from Nebbiolo, it is intense yet velvety due to the Lessona soils yielding softer tannins than those found in Nebbiolo from the Langhe. The grapes for the Bramaterra DOC hail from the almost 40-year-old ‘Madonna degli Angeli’ vineyard in Brusnengo, planted on soils rich in granite. Medium-bodied with delicate tannins, the wine displays red fruits, pepper and black tea aromas. The single vineyard `Vigna Covà` is in Castello, in the village of Lessona, on a rounded hill 350 metres above sea level. This wine is silky and rounded with dark fruit and clove notes, alongside ripe tannins and a finely integrated finish. Their top wine, ‘L Franc ******’, is an elegant and beautifully balanced Cabernet Franc.
Vineyards
In 2004 Sperino had purchased from Adriano Sartor the vineyards of one of the most beautiful and historic locations in Bramaterra, the Madonna degli Angeli. It was one hectare of old vineyard, planted in the 60s and still in splendid shape; over the years, another two hectares have been added to this. It is an extreme, difficult area with outcropping granite and porphyry and a huge amount of metal, especially iron. Finally, in 2019 the grapes for Bramaterra were ready to deliver a single vineyard wine. The granites of Bramaterra deliver to the wine the typical sapidity of the sands of Lessona with a more lively minerality.
Vintage
The 2019 vintage is deemed by several producers and wine critics as a classic vintage. A relatively dry winter , with temperatures above the norm, resulting in a strong vegetative recommencement. Spring was cold and rainy until the end of May when two injurious hail storms fell leading to a difficult flowering period. The warmer mid-September conditions reignited successful harvest ambitions, which carried out into a late, mid-October harvest, with a yield on unexpectedly ripe grapes. These delayed harvest wines are full and fragrant, an expression of resilience through a challenging harvest.
Vinification
Once the grapes arrived at the winery, they were manually sorted on the conveyor belt. The bunches were destemmed, gently pressed and the berries were gravity fed into the fermentation tank. Fermentation took place with natural yeasts in open-topped wooden fermenters. Skin maceration lasted 22 days, with regular punching down of the cap. The wine remained for 12 months on sur lie. This wine spent an additional 24 months in used oak barrels. Bottling commenced in September of 2021.
Tasting Notes & Technical Details
This wine is vibrant ruby in colour. On the nose are aromas of red fruits, pepper and black tea. The palate has an enveloping mouthfeel with hints of small red berries, cranberries and some oak-derived spice. It is medium-bodied with delicate tannins which led to a smooth and luxurious finish.
Alcohol (ABV)
14%
Acidity
5.1 g/l
pH
3.65
Other wines from this producer
Producer | Wine | Product Code | Features | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietà Sperino | `Uvaggio` Coste della Sesia Rosso | SP401 | R | Factsheet | |
| `Rosa del Rosa` Rosato | SP402 | Ro | Factsheet | ||
| Lessona | SP404 | R | Factsheet | ||
| `L Franc ******` | SP405 | R | Factsheet | ||
| `Vigna Covà` Lessona Riserva | SP409 | R | Factsheet |