If there is one lesson that is common amongst all the great red wines of the world, it is that nothing can substitute for optimal bottle age. You can decant a young wine to soften it up, and there is certainly no shame in enjoying a bright and fresh young Beaujolais—but nothing can awaken one’s soul like a complex and layered red whose tannins and hard edges have been melted away by time.
When you encounter a wine in this truly sublime state of maturity, you recognize it immediately. Your palate comes alive, every dish tastes more delicious, and perhaps even your friends who usually don’t like Burgundy or Italian wine will abruptly change their tune. This bottle is such a wine, and we have reserved all that remains on the West Coast.
While the alpine hamlet of Lessona is renowned amongst collectors for the quality and near-infinite cellar potential of its best Nebbiolo-based reds, its reputation is also severely limited by its own microscopic size. This is one of the smallest wine producing villages in Italy—so small in fact that Massimo Clerico owns a mere two hectares of vines in the village, making him the third largest landholder in the appellation! So needless to say, most wine enthusiasts—even lovers of Barolo and Barbaresco—have never enjoyed a single bottle of Lessona. Off the top of my head, I can name only three Lessona producers whose wines are imported into the US. The Clerico family produces less than 500 cases of wine each year, and less than half of that total production is labeled as Lessona. This is an extraordinarily rare wine.
Massimo Clerico’s ancestors have farmed grapes in Lessona since the 1700s and are regarded as founding fathers of local wine culture. And when the Italian government awarded this village DOC status in 1976, Massimo’s father Sandrino was one of the first three growers to label his Nebbiolo under the Lessona DOC appellation. Nebbiolo reigns supreme as Lessona’s dominant variety just like Barolo or Barbaresco, but this village’s sandy soils sit another two hours further Northeast into the foothills of the Swiss-Italian alps. So, in this terroir, Nebbiolo assumes a strikingly different character—tannins are tighter and more finely grained, fruit is fresher and brighter, and the wines require significant patience before they become drinkable. Today’s bottle, for instance, is in peak form and delicious but it will continue evolving for easily another decade!
Massimo Clerico produced today’s wine exclusively from his own grapes. There is no purchased fruit or contracted vineyards. Everything is done in house—literally—at this tiny family estate. Massimo’s home and surrounding vineyards are situated at approximately 1,000 feet above sea level. The soil here is composed of ancient marine sands over chalky, acidic subsoil and three small vineyards that encircle the family home come together to produce today’s wine. First, Leria is a parcel situated directly in front of the family home and cellar door. Next, the Gaja vineyard is planted to 45 year-old Nebbiolo, and serves as the backbone and majority fruit source for this wine. Finally, the Putin vineyard was planted 1984, and only the best nebbiolo fruit from these vines are put into today’s bottling.
Like everything else at the small Clerico family property, harvest is done the old fashioned way; hand-picked grapes are typically harvested during the second half of October. Massimo’s underground cellar dates back to 1740 and it is stocked with equipment from decades past. After harvest, grape clusters are destemmed before a beginning a several weeks-long fermentation. Following fermentation, Massimo’s Lessona ages in medium and large neutral oak barrels for at least three years before bottling. By law, Lessona only needs to spend a year in barrel, but Massimo ages his wines much longer—three to five years is not unusual. For instance, other current Lessona releases in the market are from the 2012 or 2013 vintage while Massimo’s current release is 2009! Fortunately, we are offering the last bottles of the exceptional 2008 vintage. For every noble Nebbiolo growing appellation in the northwestern corner of Italy—Barolo, Barbaresco, and here in Lessona—2008 is a late blooming but consistently outstanding vintage that produces wines with outstanding cellar potential.
The 2008 Massimo Clerico Lessona shows a deep red center with orange tones circling the rim. On the nose, this wine is a mosaic of dark plum, black cherries, dried cherries, mountain flowers, dried roses, white pepper, black truffles and fine oiled leather. Decant the wine for one hour and serve in large Burgundy stems. For a memorable evening with friends prepare
this Slow Roasted Oxtail Stew recipe and two bottles of this timeless and stunning wine.
