Paolo de Marchi was best known, of course, as the owner of the renowned Chianti Classico estate Isole e Olena until its very recent sale, but his ancestral property far to the north has nothing in common with the Tuscan winery except, Luca remarks, that each has to work with a difficult grape variety: Sangiovese at Isole e Olena and Nebbiolo at Proprieta Sperino.
In the 19th century, Alto Piemonte was one of Italy’s largest wine regions with 40,000 hectares under vine. But frequent hailstorms and the growing industrialisation of the area – its pure water made it ideal for textile production – led to a dramatic decline and within a few years, only 300 hectares remained under cultivation.
Uvaggio' means grape variety in Italian and this celebrates the varieties of Lessona. Nebbiolo's characteristic tannins and acidity are tempered and complemented by the indigenous Vespolina and Croatina grapes.
