Tenute Sella

With origins that date back to 1671, Tenute Sella is the clearest proof that the Nebbiolo variety arrived in the Piedmont not from the Langhe but from the north of the region. An austere, intense and characterful variety which the region's forebears vinified along with other native grapes, especially with the excellent, spicy Vespolina, in order to tone down the coarseness of its youth. This practice has survived for centuries and still today many wines demonstrate the sensational result of this coupage, as convincing as Langhe's reds yet bearing a much less famous name.

In the complex and fragmented territory of the northern Piedmont, the town of Lessona constitutes an area of extraordinary quality. Here the Nebbiolo is favoured with magnificent sun exposure which bestows an almost Mediterranean climate on the vineyard, and it enjoys sandy soils that are marine in origin, very good drainage and extraordinary minerality. These are the naturally-arising factors which give rise to a range of wines that simply must be tasted, enjoyed and, if you have the patience, put by too: their longevity can reach and even surpass three decades. Verticality, freshness, minerality and some firm tannins characterise Tenute Sella's Lessona, a powerful wine of undeniable elegance.

Omaggio a Quintino Sella is a homage from Tenute Sella to Quintino Sella, the scientist and Italian politician, and it's also the winery's jewel in the crown. A Lessona made from the grapes of a single vineyard, and which matures for as long as or even longer than a Barolo (4 years in large 25-hl casks). A wine that has authority, an intense garnet colour, with clear notes of spices, ripe fruit, grapefruit, tobacco and tar on the nose. On the palate, a real balsamic explosion, a fresh, tasty, tannic and infinite wine.

There's still more to come: from the middle of the 19th Century, the winery has been the owner of some of the best lands in the Bramaterra denomination, another important epicentre of the Nebbiolo in the Piedmont's north. Here, soils rich in the igneous rock porphyry and the harsher climate give rise to wines which are even more taut and vertical, of excellent potential and extraordinary elegance. On the nose, the notes of slate, red fruit berries and spices prepare the way for a flavoursome, full-bodied drink. A description of the wines in the Bramaterra range and particularly of the I Porfidi selection, a wine which matures for 3 years in huge barrels to provide a memorable experience with endless persistence.