The Uvaggio name is used to describe a blend of several grapes.   In this case, the wine is from Piedmont, a region known best for Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Gavi and Asti Spumante.   Generally speaking these wines have been 100 percent (or nearly 100 percent) single varietal.   Barolos and Barbarescos, for example, are usually all Nebbiolo grapes.

This wine, however, is 65 percent Nebbiolo, 20 percent Vespolina, and 15 percent Croatina from the Coste della Sesia region of Piedmont, near the Alps and situated around the Sesia river, near Lessona and much further north insuflaveis of Barolo. Over 100 years ago there were 100,000 acres under vine, a number down to 2,000 today.   Despite the region being a DOC, it still does not garner enough knowledge to have its own Wikipedia entry.

Dry with a reasonable 12.5 percent alcohol level and high acidity, it makes for a great food wine.  I paired it with a no-noodle lasagna, and it really cut through the cheese and tomatoes.

The sandy soil of the region and the blend of grapes do not require the long aging necessary of Barolos, but I did decant the bottle and let it open for four hours prior to drinking it.   Oak aging for eighteen months followed by bottle aging has mellowed this wine, though there is capacity to age it much longer.  This organic wine had a ruby color with a nose of cherries, soil, cloves, and mint with a palate of red currant, violets, cloves, pomegranate, blackberry, earth, and notes of tar.

There are a few bottles at Howard’s Wine Cellar going for $29.99 a bottle.   Given the complexity and depth of this wine, I think it’s a steal.