Vercellino. Coste della Sesia Rosso

Coste della Sesia DOC.
Grape: Nebbiolo 70%, Barbera, Croatina, Vespolina and Uva Rare

A wine with a depth and purity; deep damson and bitter cherry fruit; a touch of spice, and a firm tannic grip are a markers of this hot vintage.  An extraordinary wine, ethereal delicacy, with real power and length.  13.5%

Tenute Vercellino producer page

Valdengo borders Lessona, unfortunately it is on the wrong side, so the most prestigious DOC available is the little known ‘Costa della Sesia DOC’.  A bigger name would be nice, Lessona is very small though and perhaps being outside the DOC is an advantage.  There was a time when Valdengo, Vigliano and Mottalciata were all considered Lessona villages, no more, today all that the villages share is those pale, acidic maritime sands which make life so excellent for blueberries and so difficult for vines.
The vines have an average age of over 70.  The vineyard is Guyot trained with hail nets, fortunately these were not required in 2022 but 2021 sadly had done enough damage to limit production.  Grapes are hand-picked and de-stemmed, before a spontaneous, temperature-controlled fermentation.  Maturation is in steel, and the wine is bottled without filtration.