Proprieta Sperino L Franc ****** 2018
Proprieta Sperino L Franc ******
Region: Piemonte, Italy
Vintage: 2018
Bottle size: 75cl
Grape: Cabernet Franc
ABV: 14%
On the nose are aromas of chocolate and earthy notes, followed by cassis, tobacco and plum flavours on the palate. This elegant, medium-bodied wine is beautifully balanced with supple tannins and a long elegant finish.
Grapes for this wine are sourced from the 0.4 hectare Castagnola vineyard which is located in Lessona 290 metres above sea level in the Orolungo region. Soils in Lessona have originated from a super-volcano explosion 280 million years ago, then covered by the sea before resurfacing with Alps birth. This left in Lessona marine sands from the Pliocene period (known as “Ori di Lessona”) on an igneous rock subsoil, mixed with more recent glacial sediment. The soil is rich in minerals and trace elements including iron, manganese, aluminium and zinc. The high acidity (pH 4.5-5.5) of the soil makes minerals more available to the vines. The vines are 100% Cabernet Franc from Bordeaux clones, 3309-C, 101-14 (low vigour rootstocks) with a density of 5,000 vines per hectare.
The grapes were sorted on the conveyor belt, destemmed and gently pressed before being fed by gravity into the fermentation tanks. Fermentation took place with natural yeasts in open topped wooden fermenters, with maceration lasting 30 days with regular punching down of the cap. The wine remained sur lie for 18 months before ageing in French oak barriques (50% new oak) prior to bottling.
The estate was inherited by the De Marchi family (of 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.