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The September 2017 Distinguished Cellar Auction, Part II

Auction # 466 | View Auction Schedule and Details
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Auction Ends: 9/28/2017 6:00:00 PM PDT

Lot #1913. Sanmarco Langhe Bianco Nascetta 2012

Description: Consists of 12 Bottles, 0.75L
Region: Italy, Piedmont, Langhe.
Score: "The producers I exchanged emails with estimate there are seven to ten producers currently making Nascetta. I’ve tasted four from the 2010 vintage, which is at least or almost half of the potentially existing bottlings . . . . Before popping the corks, I sought out some background on this mysterious grape. I rustled up very close to nothing. I flipped through the Oxford Companion to Wine, Barolo to Valpolicella, Wines of Italy (Burton Anderson), Italian Wine for Dummies, Vino Italiano, Luca Maroni’s Guida dei Vini Italiani - nothing. Three or four recent blog posts turned up with mentions of Nascetta, but they focused mainly on the tasting experience. I was collecting bottles for my own tasting, so I was seeking different information. Enrico was very helpful with answers as was Valter Fissore, winemaker at Elvio Cogno. Sergio Germano from Ettore Germano and Capra from Sanmarco also chimed in. Here is what I learned from them: Nascetta is the only white vine native to Langhe. Arneis is indigenous to Roero and Cortese comes from Alessandria. Nascetta was a premier Piemontese grape in the mid-1800s grown entirely within the confines of the Langhe Hills and more specifically in the commune of Novello. Most of the historical information available on the grape comes from the ampelographer Lorenzo Fantini. Fantini wrote an entire section entitled “Anascetta”, the name for the grape in the Piemontese dialect, in his 1879 Monograph on Wine Production and Oenology in the Province of Cuneo. Nascetta was originally made as a sweet wine, and Fantini compared it to the great Rheingau whites from Schloss Johannisberg. Nascetta was replanted after phylloxera but only in a few parcels. It is a delicate and sensitive grape with low yields. Hence, it is very expensive to produce. During the two World Wars, it virtually disappeared. The University of Torino cultivates indigenous vines, and Rivetto and Cogno sourced their Nascetta rootstock there. Enrico believes the material came from old vineyards in Novello, where Sergio Germano sourced his plant material. The vines bud in mid-June and are harvested from the middle to end of September. The yields are incredibly low; Rivetto harvests only a cluster per branch! Sand and limestone seem well-liked by Nascetta. All producers list one or both amongst their Nascetta soil type . . . . [The Sanmarco 2010 Nascetta Langhe Bianco] was straw in color and the most aromatic of the bunch. Dried apricot, golden apple, white flower appeared on the nose and followed to the palate. The light and pleasant viscosity softened the fresh acidity . . ." Christy Canterbury MW, ChristyCanterbury.com, "What in the World is Nascetta?" 6/25/12
Provenance: The Half Moon Cellar
Lot Location: Orange County
Estimate: $70

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