Nas-cetta del Comune di Novello…an extraordinary white in between great red wines.
The Nas-cetta is a native variety of which some old 19th century written text described the cultivation “almost exclusive of the village of Novello”. In “Saggio di Ampelografia“ of 1877, Giuseppe dei Conti di Rosavenda gave a definition of Nas-cetta variety as “a delicate grape and excellent wine”.
Since the 1950s, each Novello family has had some raws of Nas-cetta, with whom they produced, filtering it with a sac, a quite sweet white wine which was put in some bottles and corked.
This bottled and corked wine, “buta-stupa”, was drunk in special occasion.
Unfortunately, during the following years, the Nas-cetta cutivation almost disappeared, probably due to the cultivation difficulties (alternate production and growth of the vine difficult to work with).
In 1991, in Novello, thanks to the mayor Silvio Alessandria, the doctor Mario Ubigli and the priest Don Rapalino Secondo, it started again to speak about Nas-cetta and its potential. Infact, in one of the journal of the parish of that time, it was pubblished a first modern article about the vine Nas-cetta. This article speed up people to cultivate and vinificate it and Nas-cetta was rediscovered.
We have always believed in this vine which since longtime has grown in the Novello hills as the Family Cogno. In our vineyards, till 2020s, it was still possible to see some Nas-cetta vine with more than 70 years.
Since 2007, we have started to plant new vineyards of Nas-cetta, selecting some clones from the oldest vines and producing new plants for new vineyards. We have produced some wine for the first time in 2010 and officially in 2012.
VINEYARD
Variety: NAS-CETTA 100% native and semi aromatic vine
Area: the grapes come from the Vineyard Belmonda: from this same Vineyard, at the beginning of the 20th century, the chemist of Novello produced an excellent Nebbiolo to be bottled.
Exposure: south-west
The good position of these vineyards permits to produce a wine with complex bouquet: Nasc-cetta needs a lot of sun. In 1883 Fantini wrote “L’anascetta, wine that produce very elegant and complex wines in really sunny position”.
Date of Vineyard: 2007
Elevation: 440 meters above sea level
Density: 4,300 vines/hectare
Soil: different types of clay with a bit of sand
System: Guyot
VINIFICATION
The harvest started at the end of september demostrating how this vine is different from the other white vines of the region. The grapes are immediately destemmed and after one night with the skin, start the alcoholic fermentation for 15 days at controlled temperature.
The wine rests in steel tanks on the lees for six months with one batonage per week. And then other six months in the bottle before being sold.
THE WINE
A fresh and full body wine, with a beautiful bouquet of acacia flower, fruity aroma like apple, citrus, exotic fruits and honey. Thanks to its pleasant sapidity and structure it could be aged, developping with the time, a more complex bouquet. Our family is doing all the works in the vineyards and in the cellar.
