Il Poggio di Gavi: Another Gavi-DOCG-based producer of Colli Tortonesi Timorasso wine

Wines from the Timorasso variety have historically been the preserve of "traditional" Colli Tortonesi producers but, as the potential of the variety has become more apparent, "non-local" producers have jumped into the fray.

One such entrant is Il Poggio di Gavi, a winery located in the heart of Gavi DOCG. I report on this estate, and its Timorasso wine, herein.

The Rovereto-Hills property encompassing Il Poggio di Gavi was initially purchased by the father of Franca Odone in 1919 as a family hunting lodge. The lodge was eventually passed on to Franca who cleared the land to plant vineyards. She began making wine from those grapes in 1976. In 2003 she passed the control of the estate on to her daughter Francesca.

The estate makes a number of sparkling, white, and red wines from grapes grown on the 3-ha Gavi estate but it is the Colli Tortonesi offering that is of interest for this post.

The estate owns a 2-ha plot in Colli Tortonesi's Val Borbera, a zone characterized by:

• Elevations ranging between 400 and 600 m
• The highest-altitude vineyards in Colli Tortonesi
• Significant diurnal temperature variation.
• Marly clay and silty marl soils (Lower Oligocene origins).

The Il Poggio plot, dedicated to Timorasso, resides on calcareous clay soils at elevations ranging between 500 and 750 m. The 20-year-old vines have south and southeast exposures.

The first wine from this vineyard was produced from grapes harvested in 2018. The grapes are hand-harvetsed in small crates for transport to the cellar where they are vinified in stainless steel tanks using indigenous yeasts. The wines are aged in steel tanks. The first vintage yielded 83 cases.

I recently tasted the 2019 edition of this wine.

Like most of the Timorasso wines from Gavi producers that I have tasted, this wine was approachable up front. It had a Timorasso-specific, aromatic nose with notes of honeyed wax, sage, pepper spice, sweet white fruit, green and dried herbs, and a marine character. A complex, layered nose.

Weighty on the palate with lime skin, lime-infused salinity, chalky minerality, and coal. Chalky minerality becomes prevalent with the passage of time. A lengthy finish. 

Retains the complexity on the nose but more linear on the palate over time. Unlike the best Timorasso wines, the palate does not transit well to the following day.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

The Timorasso wines of Nebraie (Rocchetta Ligure, Colli Tortonesi, Alessandria)

Grape production in the southern reaches of Colli Tortonesi should be focused on Val Borbera rather than the larger, more amorphous Terre di Libarna, according to Andrea Tacchella of Azienda Agricola Nebraie. He laughs sheepishly as he adds "Ezio (of Ezio Poggio and the leading proponent of the Terre di Libarna subzone) does not agree with me" in this regard. 

I conversed with Andrea on this and other matters in a recent Zoom conversation and report on those discussions in this post.

Andrea Tacchella
(modification of a picture
on his Facebook page)

Prior to his entry into the wine business, Andrea was involved in sales. He left that business to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Enology and Marketing at the Catholic University in Piacenza. He was awarded the degree in 2014. During the course of his studies, he engaged in wine-related projects in Valtellina and Gavi and fell in love with all aspects of grape growing and winemaking.

Andrea's father was born in Rocchetta Ligure in Val Borbera and, upon his graduation, he decided to return there to launch his "life project." In furtherance of that goal, he bought 4 ha of land and planted Timorasso vines in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Andrea refers to 2017 as "a very black year" because they were hit by a freeze which destroyed 8500 of the young vines. This was a Colli-Tortonesi-wide freeze but was especially hard on Val Borbera. He had three weeks with hot temperatures in the early part of April and then between April 19 - 21 had temperatures of -7 degrees followed by a number of very cold days. This was a devastating blow from which he has not fully recovered. Even with some replanting he is only at 2 ha of vineyards in production today. 

The climate in this area is Mediterranean with influences from the sea. The area is subject to frequent thermic excursions during the growing season, conditions which contribute greatly to the acidity that is a hallmark of the region's grapes.

The vineyard sits at 500 m altitude where the soils are clay with limestone schist. It is farmed organically (certified) with only copper and sulfur treatments applied (between 6 and 10 treatments per year are allowed). In addition to pests and diseases, the grower has to contend with the damage that can be done by large animals such as wild boars and deer. He has built a 1-km-long metallic defense to keep such threats at bay.

Andrea tries to show respect for the ground and to maintain the life resident therein. He practices green manure, with plantings in alternate rows. All work in the vineyard is performed by hand except for mowing of the grass which is done using tractor attachments. Cutting occurs at the end of May or beginning of June.

A total of 18000 vines are planted in the 2 ha currently in production. In terms of results to date:

• 2018 yielded good quality fruit; a total of 4000 bottles were produced
• 2019 was good for quantity but the grapes were damaged by moths; 7000 bottles produced.

Andrea contracts for assistance in terms of vineyard management but does most of the cellar work on his own. He harvests by hand in late September - early October, with the pick date determined by technical analysis of acid and potential alcohol (12 - 13% preferred) levels.

Grapes are whole-bunch-pressed (in an ancient press) and placed into temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks of varying size. There is no maceration and fermentation proceeds with indigenous yeasts. The process runs for approximately 20 days.

Andrea makes three wines from these grapes: Mec L'È?, Bolle in valle, and Bertume.

Nebraie's wines (Sourced from
Andrea Tacchella's Facebook page)

Mec L'È? is dialect for What's up? He gave the wine the name after waiting over nine months for the refermentation in bottle to begin. This is a 100% Timorasso sparkling wine with refermentation facilitated by wine must. The must is conservd in refrigerated tanks until Andrea is ready to combine it with the wine for refermentation. 500 bottles of this wine are produced.

Bolle is also a wine refermented in bottle but it follows the Metodo Classico style with the second fermentation driven by added sugar and yeast. Pressure is held to between 4 and 5 atmospheres. 500 bottles

Bertume -- dialect for Saint Bartholomew -- is a classic Timorasso wine. The first vintage was bottled two years ago but the wine, in his estimation, still needs time. In the future he will only sell the classic Timorasso when it is ready for market; that is, when it displays notes of petroleum. 1500 bottles.

Nebraie falls within the official Terre di Libarna subzone but Andrea does not use that designation on his labels. He designates his wines as White Wine, Sparkling Wine, and Spumante (It should be noted that the sparkling wines produced by Nebraie do not adhere to either the Colli Tortonesi or Terre di Libarna specifications. The Colli Tortonesi regulations allow for a sparkling wine made via the Charmat method and comprised of a minimum of 95% Cortese and a maximum of 5% of other authorized non-aromatic white grapes. The designation for sparkling wines made in the Terre di Libarna sub-zone: a minimum of 60% Timorasso and a maximum of 40% of other authorized non-aromatic white grapes made via the Charmat method.).

In terms of markets, Andrea has a small deal for distribution within Italy but it is a work-in-progress for deals beyond the national border.

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Andrea considers himself a natural winemaker and Val Borbera is at the center of his philosophy; the place best-suited in all of Colli Tortonesi, given the growing conditions, for the production of sparkling wine. He will continue to expand in that space and may introduce some local varieties much further on.

Andrea feels fortunate that his dad was born in Val Borbera. It is a great place for a young person to get a start on a life project. It is a difficult place to start but it is beautiful and wild and has a lot of space for development. It is perfect for him because he likes the challenge of rebuilding an area that was organized and managed 50 to 60 years ago but had reverted to nature due to neglect.

There is a collegial and cooperative atmosphere between the winemakers in Colli Tortonesi -- and Andrea takes full advantage of that -- but because of his age and farming practices, he tends to gravitate more towards the young, organic farmers in the region.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Colli Tortonesi DOC's Terre di Libarna subzone

Much as Walter Massa's efforts were responsible for the resuscitation of the Timorasso variety in the Tortona hills, Ezio Poggio launched an -- ultimately successful -- effort to reclaim the variety's rightful place in Val Borbera. I discuss the Terre di Libarna growing zone in this post.

The Terre di Libarna subzone was championed by Ezio Poggio because of the history of the Timorasso grape in the region and the difference in orographic and climatic conditions vis a vis the Monleale area. The zone covers Val Borbera and Val Spinti and is so named because they did not want to name it after one of the valleys over the other. The decision was this made to give it the name of the ancient Roman city that had stood between the two valleys.

The Val Borbera is the valley formed by the Borbera River. It is surrounded by high mountains which serve to isolate it from surrounding valleys and the ravages of industrialization. As shown in the map below, the Alta Val Borbera runs in a northeasterly direction while the lower valley runs almost directly east.

According to Cascina Barbàn, wine has been made in Val Borbera for centuries, with documents from Napoleanic times illustrating the breadth of grapegrowing across the region. As late as the 1960s, 275 ha of vineyards were planted between Vignole Borbera and Carrega Ligure with 60 of those located in Alta Val Vorbera. Most of the plantings were dedicated to Timorasso.

With elevations ranging between 400 and 600 m, Val Borbera has the highest-altitude vineyards in Colli Tortonesi. It also has a markedly different temperature profile. According to Maurizio Carucci of Cascina Barbàn, the Tortona hills, with its hot, humid summers, are more reflective of a Po Valley influence. Val Borbera, on the other hand, is colder in the winter, has more significant diurnal temperature variation, and much more rainfall over the course of the growing season. The diurnal temperature variation supports the production of highly aromatic grapes while the cool temperatures extends the growing season. Maurizio sees at least a 20-day difference in harvest dates between the two zones.

Val Borbera soils are primarily marly clay and silty marl originating in the Lower Oligocene.

The subzone Terre di Libarna is illustrated in the figure below.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme