This beauty has it all: A deeply respected producer with “cult” cachet; the outstanding 2013 vintage (a year Vinous Media’s Antonio Galloni lauded for its “sublime finesse and elegance”); five-plus years of age; and, with only 125 cases on the planet, extreme rarity and “insider” status that makes it a sought-after treasure for sommeliers. Oh, and wait: Did I mention that this mature, dark-fruited, terroir tour-de-force only costs $35? And that it will out-perform countless Barolo/Barbaresco wines costing twice as much? Established subscribers have heard me gush about Clerico many times before—about its remarkable history (see below) and its inimitable expressions of the Nebbiolo grape—but I’m compelled to do so again. All of Clerico’s wines are exceptional values, with this one at the top of the list: It’s irresistibly delicious today, and will only grow more deep and seductive over the next decade. As with all of Clerico’s wines, there’s not much to go around, so my advice is to move quickly!

[*NOTE: This wine is being specially ordered and will be shipping from our warehouse the week of Monday, March 11th.]

While the northern Piedmont hamlet of Lessona is renowned among collectors for the quality and cellar potential of its best Nebbiolo-based reds, its reputation is also severely limited by its 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, making him the third-largest landholder in the appellation! 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. Clerico produces less than 500 cases of wine each year, and less than one-third of that is represented by their most limited release, today’s Coste della Sesia “Spanna.”

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 (a.k.a. Spanna) reigns supreme as Lessona’s dominant variety, as in Barolo or Barbaresco, but this village’s sandy soils sit two hours northeast, in the foothills of the Swiss-Italian Alps. In this terroir, Nebbiolo assumes a strikingly different character—tannins are softer and more finely grained, fruit is fresher and brighter, and the wines often require significant patience before they show their best. Today’s 2013, for instance, was ruthlessly tannic and closed when it was bottled in 2015—but, fast-forward to the present day and it’s finally shed its youthful reticence to reveal a wealth of gorgeous aromas and dark beauty. As always, Clerico produced today’s wine exclusively from own grapes. There is no purchased fruit or contract vineyards. Everything is done in house—literally—at this tiny family estate. 

Like everything else at Clerico, 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 eras past. After harvest, grape clusters are de-stemmed before a beginning two-week alcoholic fermentation followed by an extremely long, five-week maceration on skins. Today’s wine rested in three-year-old French oak barriques for 12 months, followed by an additional six months to a year in bottle before release. Given this wine’s low price and the decidedly “working class” appellation of Coste della Sesia on its label, this is an impressively complex and time-consuming process. The Coste della Sesia DOC, which is used in alto Piemonte much as the “Langhe” DOC is used in Barolo, is less restrictive than the Lessona appellation in that it doesn’t mandate any minimum aging period before the wine can be released for sale (for Lessona it’s 22 months, including 12 months in barrel). As such, most other producers are releasing their 2017 Coste della Sesia Nebbiolos while this is our first shot at Massimo’s 2013!

Clerico’s Spanna is a testament to Piedmont’s enduring ability to produce world-class wines for a modest price. I open many $50 and $75 bottles of wine each month that couldn’t hold a candle to this rapturous combination of black cherry fruit, infinitely layered tannins, and haunting conifer, black truffle, and cigar box aromas. Most importantly, this is truly a wine of place—it’s a definitive example of the Nebbiolo variety planted in Piedmont’s northern hills. I encourage you to decant for 30 minutes before serving in large Burgundy stems at 60 degrees. While I’m tempted to use today’s wine to showcase a favorite obscure Piedmontese recipe, I have to be honest: this bottle is built for steak! So, don’t drive yourself crazy with a multi-page shopping list. Simply ask your local butcher for one or two of his best bone-in ribeyes, roast some yukon gold potatoes and broccoli rabe in butter and garlic, and let Clerico do the rest. The beauty of a wine priced like this is that there are no second thoughts or extra work necessary. Just have fun with it!