Proprieta Sperino L Franc 2018
£101.25
The wine
Chocolate and earthy notes, followed by cassis, tobacco and plum on the palate. Elegant and medium-bodied.
L Franc is Cabernet Franc from a 0.4-hectare parcel of the Castagnola vineyard, planted by the family as an experiment in a zone otherwise given to Nebbiolo. The Alto Piemonte lies north of Barolo in the foothills of the Alps, on acidic volcanic and marine sands quite unlike the calcareous marl of the Langhe. It was once far larger than Barolo, with tens of thousands of hectares, before phylloxera and industrialisation emptied it; the revival is recent.
The producer
Proprietà Sperino
View all Proprietà Sperino winesProprieta Sperino is a benchmark estate of Alto Piemonte, founded by Luca and Paolo De Marchi to revive the historic, once-forgotten vineyards of Lessona. Their work has helped return this remote northern region to the top rank of Nebbiolo.
The vineyards lie on rare acidic, sandy and volcanic soils that give the wines their ethereal perfume, tension and minerality, a world away from the power of Barolo. Farming is meticulous and the winemaking patient and traditional.
The range runs from the fragrant Uvaggio and distinctive Rosa del Rosa rosato to the profound single-appellation Lessona and Bramaterra, the rare L Franc Cabernet Franc and the majestic Vigna Cova Lessona Riserva.
Elegant, mineral and deeply expressive, Proprieta Sperino makes some of Italy most compelling Nebbiolo, the beating heart of the Alto Piemonte revival.
