Luigi Spertino

Luigi Spertino
Spertino vineyard
Spertino
Luigi Spertino
Luigi Spertino

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

Mauro Spertino is one of the most artistic and technical craftspeople in our entire portfolio. The diversity and skill demonstrated throughout his range forecast the inevitability that he will find his place among other wine alchemists in Italy whose unmistakable imprints are evident at first smell—Quintarelli, Bea and Soldera are names that come to mind.

The Spertino family has worked their lands to make ends meet by selling grapes and almonds since 1898. Luigi Spertino took over the family estate in 1977 and began to bottle wines under the family name the following year. Surrounded by wine his entire life, his son Mauro gradually took the reins and the wines have reached a level of distinction rarely found in the wine world.

His reds range from bright and sensual, able to flutter and seduce, to more elixir-like and dark, which mesmerize with a deep well of discovery in each smell and taste. Mauro toys with Cortese, a white grape from which he slowly extracts an orange hue, crystalline clarity and mind-bending complexity. His vermouth, Belle Epoque, carries a ballerina-like balance of power and grace. All that he touches he makes into something dazzling and one of a kind.

To give Mauro Spertino any parcel of land is an opportunity to discover its potential, but with a twist. Every wine is subordinate to its terroir, but Mauro has learned how to harness the most distinguished and compelling expressions from his meticulously farmed grapes and turn them into something unexpected and uniquely special. He goes beyond every expectation with any parcel of land that may in the wrong hands just as easily produce nothing more than a decent wine.

Located in a northeastern area of Piedmont, the Spertino’s eleven hectares of vineyards are in the commune of Asti, inside the Tiglione Valley. La Mandorla, the hill next to their house where their grapes grow, means “the almond” in Italian. It takes this name because the almond trees begin to flower a month earlier than most other regions in Piedmont, which suggests that it’s one of the warmest microclimates in Asti.

Their west and eastern-facing vineyards on La Mandorla are steep and near forest groves that help to lower the nighttime heat. The soils are primarily composed of clay (70%) and sand (30%), and are gifted with the magical influence of its high limestone content. Mauro’s vines are cultivated to meet EU organic standards and everything is done by hand, including the mowing of the grass and herbs between the vine rows. [cm_tooltip_parse] -TV [/cm_tooltip_parse]

Luigi Spertino - 2021 Barbera d’Asti, La Bigia

Price: $39.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

24+ in stock

Type of Wine: Red
Style: High acid, Rustic

This wine once again demonstrates Mauro’s unique alchemist touch and a signature like no other winemaker in the world. I never have imagined that a Barbera could taste and feel like Mauro’s *La Grisa*. He’s managed to put a bright light and deep darkness into the same bottle of wine; it’s black as ink, which makes it somehow intimidating to even taste. Inside this wine aged for half a year in old 5000 liter botte are aromas of a thick, dank and wet green forest with taut but mature wild black berries, black currant and a potpourri of underbrush. The palate is powerful, supple and somehow fine at the same time. Its explosive bright acidity keeps this brooding wine in perfect harmony.

The Wine

Mauro Spertino once again demonstrates his alchemistic touch and the unique signature on his wines. I never imagined that a Barbera could taste and evoke such emotion like his. He’s somehow managed to create duality between bright light and deep darkness in the same wine. It’s aged for half a year in old 5000-liter botte and expresses aromas of a thick, dank and fresh wet green forest, with taut but mature wild black berries, black currant and a potpourri of underbrush. The palate is powerful, supple and refined, like the final polish on a marble sculpture. The naturally bright acidity inherent to Barbera keeps this brooding wine in perfect harmony. Like all of Mauro’s wines, this is singular unto itself and must be experienced, just like the next Barbera in our lineup from Dave.

About The Wine

Mauro Spertino once again demonstrates his alchemistic touch and the unique signature on his wines. I never imagined that a Barbera could taste and evoke such emotion like his. He’s somehow managed to create duality between bright light and deep darkness in the same wine. It’s aged for half a year in old 5000-liter botte and expresses aromas of a thick, dank and fresh wet green forest, with taut but mature wild black berries, black currant and a potpourri of underbrush. The palate is powerful, supple and refined, like the final polish on a marble sculpture. The naturally bright acidity inherent to Barbera keeps this brooding wine in perfect harmony. Like all of Mauro’s wines, this is singular unto itself and must be experienced, just like the next Barbera in our lineup from Dave.