The Sella wine estates are one of the oldest active Italian wine producers. The Sella family has produced wine in Lessona from their own vineyards since 1671. The documents from that period are still preserved in the Sella Foundation. Over the next three centuries, the Sella family has kept the estate intact and its cellars still hold old vintages of these wines, including Lessona dating back from as early as 1881.
Today the estate still maintains its original artisanal scale and is still devoted to the limited production of high-quality wine. These wines come from approximately 20 hectares of estate vineyards, of which 80,000 bottles of wine are produced annually, due to very low yields.
Lessona and Bramaterra are located in northern Piedmont, in the foothills of the Alpine mountains. This area covers the western part of a circle of noble wine-producing areas, made unique by their porphyric soils, that extends from Gattinara to Boca. With the Langa and Valtellina, these constitute the three classic areas for the production of Nebbiolo. The vineyards of northern Piedmont offer a cooler climate and soils that are richer in minerals when compared to the soils of Barolo and Barbaresco. The terroirs of Lessona and Bramaterra interact best with the Nebbiolo grape, resulting in a very distinctive bouquet. The typical aromas of Nebbiolo here are enriched by a characteristic ferrous minerality. This quality gives the wines marked and well defined mineral savor, rare in Italy and not less striking than that of the great red wines of Burgundy and Loire. Clear balsamic notes are present, too, with mint, ginger and spices like white pepper. Other distinguishing aromas include floral notes such as geranium, and citrus (citron, bergamot). Structurally these wines are lighter and more elegant than those of Barolo and Barbaresco, with tannins that are perfectly incorporated even when young, particularly in Lessona; in Bramaterra the wines retain a marked incisiveness.
Lessona has been for decades a very rare Italian version of an “AOC monopole”, an appellation almost entirely owned by one producer, Sella. Historically, the granting of the DOC was an official recognition of the history of the estate, particularly of the passion of the family which has always believed in their land.
The Sella family produces eight wines, made principally of Nebbiolo. The four top wines are made from grapes grown in vineyards that are at least forty years old, with parcels that are more than 80 years old, particularly the Lessona vineyard called San Sebastiano allo Zoppo. The grapes from young vines of Lessona and Bramaterra are combined to make the estate second wine: L´Orbello.
The high average age of these vineyards naturally tends to produce very low yields, in the order of 1.5 tons per acre (35 quintali of grapes per hectare).
In the old vineyards in northern Piedmont Nebbiolo is never planted by itself. It is always found with some rows of Vespolina, Croatina, or Uva Rara. For this reason our wines from Lessona and Bramaterra consist of a majority of Nebbiolo with a small percentage of the traditional local varieties.
Sella vinifies in a classical style. “Classical” doesn’t mean “old”. The technique of vinification and the technology used in our cellar are continually updated, always being sure to guarantee the best results. At Sella the word “classical” means that we prize the most authentic characteristics of the terroir and the vines, expressed by gentle extraction and aging in neutral wood.
THE WINES
“Vignaluce” Coste della Sesia DOC Bianco
100% Erbaluce
Two days of skin contact before fermentation
Fermentation and aging in stainless steel
Erbaluce is the classic indigenous white grape variety of northern Piedmont. 'Vignaluce' is made entirely of Erbaluce and neatly and elegantly expresses the character of the variety. The perfume ranges from almond to mandarin orange, wild flowers, and a quality of sappiness and minerality. Grown at very low yield in soils known for the production of structured red wines, this Erbaluce expresses a power and richness rare for the variety.
“Majoli” Coste della Sesia DOC Rosato
Nebbiolo 100%
Fermentation and aging in stainless steel vats
Majoli is a rosé made mostly from the noble variety Nebbiolo. It consists of 50% 'saignée,' juice bled off from the fermentation of Lessona and Bramaterra (conferring structure and complexity), and 50% Nebbiolo vinified as a rosé (conferring freshness). The wine shows perfumes of pomegranate and watermelon, with echoes of licorice and rose petal. In the mouth it is substantial and intense, characterised by light varietal tannin and a pronounced salty aspect, components that give the wine a particular, pleasing 'crunchiness.' This is a Nebbiolo rosé that clearly represents the grape variety from which it is made, but is also unusually influenced by the vineyard and the region of production.
“Orbello” Coste della Sesia DOC
50% Barbera, 25% Nebbiolo, 20% Caberne Franc, 5% Vespolina and Croatina (approximately)
Barbera aged for 12 months in stainless steel, the other varieties 12 months in large barrels and used barriques
About 25,000 bottles produced every year
The fruit for Orbello comes from old-vine Barbera and Cabernet vineyards that date back to the 60s, to which are added young-vine Nebbiolo and Vespolina. In our judgement this is an extraordinary everyday wine, sold for the price of a normal Barbera or Dolcetto, with which it shares immediate drinkability but compared to which it offers more complexity and broader aromatic qualities. You will find here the same mineral and spice elements found in the more prestigious Lessona and Bramaterra, but in a fresher, more forward interpretation.
Bramaterra DOC
Nebbiolo 70%, Croatina 20%, Vespolina 10% ca.
Aged for 18 months in large barrels
About 20,000 bottles each vintage
Made from the vineyards of the historic Villa del Bosco, located in the heart of the Bramaterra area from which the whole appellation takes its name. The Bramaterra appellation includes six other areas between Gattinara and Lessona; the soils, constituted for the most part of grey-brown porphyr, give wines that are austere, intensely ferrous and spicy, with the most intense and succulent fruit.
Lessona DOC
80% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolina
Aged for 24 months in large barrels
About 15,000 bottles each vintage
The most classic Lessona, made from grapes grown in various small old vineyards in the commune of Lessona. An aristocratically elegant Nebbiolo, yet also direct and attractive.
Lessona DOC “San Sebastiano allo Zoppo”
80% Nebbiolo, 20 % Vespolina
Aged for 18 months in large barrels, then 12 months in barrique.
About 5000 bottles produced in each vintage
From the single vineyard S. Sebastiano on the hill called Zoppo, one of the most respected crus in Alto Piemonte. This is the only wine we make that undergoes a brief aging in barrique. The vintage 2001, actually available for export, has been priced with the prestigious “3 Glasses” award by the “Gambero Rosso / Slow Food” italian wine guide.
Lessona DOC "Omaggio a Quintino Sella”
80% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolina
Aged for 36 months in large barrel
3000 bottles and 150 magnums produced only in the best vintages
It’s the selection of the best barrel of Lessona or Bramaterra, made only when the quality is exceptional. The inspiration for this wine came from a passion for the great Rieslings of the Rhine, where the truly extraordinary lots are bottled seperately as “goldkapsel”.
Click on this link to learn more about the appellation of Lessona http://www.italianmade.com/wines/DOC10180.cfm
