A spotlight on the Alto Piemonte and La Prevostura

La Prevostura "Muntacc" Coste della Sesia DOC 2015

Many of you may know the wines of the "Alto Piemonte" and it's famous villages of

Gattinara, Lessona, Bramaterra, Boca and Ghemme to name a few. If you are not familiar with wines from this area think of Barolo but with a different soil type like volcanic, a cooler climate producing more elegant and less tannic style Nebbiolo based wines. Alto Piemonte is about 100 miles north of Barolo close to Val D'Aosta, the region bordering France. Another difference in the wines is the use of a few other local red grape varieties like Vespolina and Croatina which give the wine a different flavor and aromatic profile. Croatina lending more of a rustic feel and flavors of tobacco, dark plum dark chocolate, coffee and low tannins and high acidity. Vespolina's signature is the aroma of white pepper, wild raspberry, strawberry fruit and more tannins. It may be the most exciting wine producing area in Italy today. I really just can't get enough of them.

The Sesia river runs north to south and divides these villages. On the west side is the Coste della Sesia and is where you will find Gattinara, Bramaterra and Lessona, the first two being volcanic soils and the latter yellow sandy soils producing wines with softer tannins. The east side of the river is known as Colline Novaresi and is where you find Boca, Ghemme, Sizzano and Fara and is also a mix of volcanic, alluvial (clay, silt and sand) morainic (glacial debris) soils depending on the village. The viticultural history of this area was started by Burgundian monks who moved to this area in the 11th century and improved the quality of the wines. But let's fast forward to the early 1900's this area became a lost wine civilization due to a large hail storm and due to the fact that people dropped winemaking and turned to more profitable businesses like the textile industry leaving the large wine cement fermenting tanks as ancient ruins. Before this drop in production there were 40,000 hectare under vine in these villages, today there is only 1500 hectare divided amongst these villages with Lessona holding only 8 hectare of the share. The recovery and restoration of these vineyards has been fascinating thanks to producers like Paolo de Marchi of Proprietà Sperino in Lessona. And to give credit where credit is due, the Alto Piemonte expert and wine consultant for La Prevostura and many others, Cristiano Garella, born in Bramaterra, is a true ambassador of the Alto Piemonte. The late great gastronome Luigi Veronelli, one of my personal idols has always cellared these wines. A 1955 Spanna from Antonio Vallana was revealed at Astor Wines in New York directly from his cellar in honor of his life and work. These wines are more than worth it and you will be glad you stocked up and took advantage of them at such low pricing.

Brothers Marco and Davide Bellini acquired 5 hectares of land from a historic Lessona producer in 2001. The cuvée Muntacc is named after the vineyard and is made up of 85% Nebbiolo and 15% Vespolina. The wine is fermented in steel and then aged 21 months in barriques and tonneaux and 12 months in bottle. The wine is silky and long, floral and aromatic with red and orange fruit and a white pepper spiciness from the Vespolina with bright acidity. Drinkability is the most important aspect of this wine and production is very limited. 

Pricing is as follows:

La Prevostura, Coste della Sesia Muntacc (2015)

(12/750ml: $240, $228/3 cases...$216/5 cases)

Regards,

Michael Reale