Italian Gems

Here’s a little background on the three producers being featured for their delightful verticals:

1. Massimo Clerico

   • The Clerico family has worked the land in Lessona since the 1700s. In fact, the Clerico estate, under the direction of Sandrino Clerico (Massimo’s father), was one of the three original vineyards awarded the right to the Lessona appellation when it was first created in 1976. The Clerico family owns two hectares within the designated Lessona zone which, by the way, makes the Clerico azienda the third largest landholder in the appellation!

   • Massimo Clerico produces his wines exclusively from grapes grown in his own vineyards, most of which surround the family home and cantina on a hill overlooking the town of Lessona. The vineyards are situated at approximately 350 meters above sea level and the soil is predominantly an ancient marine sand of high acid that provides excellent drainage.

   • Lessona is a small area in the Vercelli hills, which bears its name from the town of Lessona, in the Biella province. There are very few producers here, the area being one of the smallest DOCs in Piedmont, but nevertheless the few producers in the zone make quite a refined red wine from the Nebbiolo grape.

2. Figli Luigi Oddero

   • The winery was established by Luigi Oddero, a winemaker and very inquisitive and cultured man, deeply in love with his land, the Langhe. A country gentleman, as Mario Soldati described him in his 1975 interview, which was published in the book Vino al Vino. A man who combined a practical mind and long-term vision, well representing the fusion between energies of the past and the skill of looking ahead. A charismatic figure, poised between progress and preservation, always turning his attention to technical innovation, but doing so without ever losing sight of his family’s history, which began in the 1800s with his grandparents, winemakers and wine merchants themselves.

   • Rocche Rivera in Castiglione Falletto, in the menzione geografica (Cru) of Scarrone di Castiglione Falletto, is named after Arnaldo Rivera, former and beloved mayor of Castiglione Falletto. It is considered to be one of the best vineyard sites of the area, with southeast exposure at an average height of about 300 meters above sea level.

   • The wine is aged in large-size French oak barrels for at least 36 months and left to rest in bottle for 2 years before release.

3. La Torre

   • The Anania family originally comes from Calabria in the south of Italy where they farmed for many years producing a fine “bufala mozzarella” among other agricultural products. Giuseppe Anania, the father of Luigi Anania, the present owner and producer of the wines of La Torre, purchased the La Torre property in 1976. The estate is located in the commune of La Sesta, approximately 8 kilometers south of Montalcino in the highest altitude section of the Brunello appellation, quite near to the lovely village of San Angelo in Colle. The first vintage at La Torre was the fabled 1982 which set a fine precedent for the future work.

   • The vineyards, at approximately 1500 feet above sea level, are divided into four squares and are harvested, by hand, separately in late September through early October under normal conditions. All grapes are destemmed prior to fermentation. Only indigineous yeasts are used. All wines at the estate are bottled by gravity and are not filtered.