Glorious Nebbiolo from one of the true masters of the Alto Piemonte. Tawny red color reflects the age of the wine. Dried black cherry, clove, dried violet petal and leather on the nose. Texture in the mouth is medium light but with extraordinary depth and structure. Layered but tightly focused, with cranberry, sage and red clay. To qualify as Lessona Riserva, the wine must be aged a total of 46 months before commercial release with a minimum of 30 months in barrel. This, the grandest wine of the estate, is a selection of Nebbiolo from Clerico’s finest vineyard sites, including the oldest vines of the estate (planted in 1970) in the “Vigna Gaja”. Although Lessona can be produced with a minimum of 85% Nebbiolo, Clerico’s Lessona is produced exclusively from Nebbiolo. The elegance and refinement of Clerico’s Lessona is manifest, providing another unique rendition of the complexity of the Nebbiolo grape. 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.
