Much as Burgundy has Côte de Nuit and Côte de Beaune for a great red and great white wine, respectively, Piedmont potentially has the opportunity for such a juxtaposition of Barolo/Barbaresco and Colli Tortonesi (Timorasso) if the market acceptance of the latter continues apace. And it seems that some of the big guns from Barolo/Barbaresco are betting on this outcome as they pre-position themselves to take advantage of it. Vietti, Borgogno, Roagna, Pio Cesare, and La Spinetta have all purchased land in the Colli Tortonesi zone and have introduced a Timorasso wine to the market. I examine the offerings of Borgogno and La Spinetta in this post.
La Spinetta's origin dates back to the farming skills and principles established in the 1960s by Giuseppe Rivetti and his wife Lidia. Their four kids took up the mantle and expanded the company into the production of Moscato, initially and then, sequentially, Barbera, Barbaresco, and Barolo. They created Casanova della Spinetta in Tuscany in 2001 and purchased the historic Piemontese sparkling house Contratto in 2011. The purchase of approximately 5 ha of land in Timorasso country in 2018 is in keeping with the company's spirit of pursuit of new challenges.
According to Vinconnect:
The Borgogno name represents over 250 years of history in the Barolo region, its origins dating back to 1761 with the founding of the first winery by Bartolomeo Borgogno. One of the oldest cellars in all of Piedmont, Borgogno wines have enjoyed centuries of acclaim, its Barolo selected as the wine of choice at the official dinner celebration of the Italian Unification in 1861 and again in 1886 honoring the official visit of Nicola II Romanov, Czar of Russia. ...
The Borgogno winery farms approximately 20 hectares (49 acres) of vineyards, located in some of the most prestigious areas in Barolo such as Cannubi, Liste, Fossati and San Pietro ... All of the wines are produced from 100% estate-owned vineyards. In 2008, Giacomo Borgogno & Figli was acquired by the Farinetti family.
Borgogno has purchased 3 ha of land in Colli Tortonesi.
The location of the holdings are illustrated graphically below.
Borgogno is tapped to be fully organic with its 2019 vintage while La Spinetta currently functions as such.
Both of the wines are 100% Timorasso from Colli Tortonesi DOC. The grapes are hand-harvested and, in the case of Borgogno, transported to its main winery for processing. I have not been able to determine specifically where La Spinetta processes its Timorasso grapes but I would be surprised if it does not employ the same mechanism.
The grapes are fermented naturally in stainless steel tanks. La Spinetta's wine ages for 8 months on the lees after which it is filtered and bottled. The wine spends another 3 months in bottle before its release on the market. The Borgogno wine ages in concrete tanks for 10 months and then spends 6 months in bottle.
This Piccolo Derthona is La Spinetta's inaugural vintage; it will not be its best. Neither the nose or palate yelled "Tortonesi Timorasso." The limited time on the lees associated with a Piccolo has yielded a relatively thin wine.
The Borgogno was pale gold in the glass but not as viscuous as the La Colombera. Elegant on the nose. Honeyed hay, lychee, spice, woody character, and mint. Rounded palate. Elegant initially. Salinity at the end yields to a mineral finish. One of the characteristics of Timorasso that I have to come to appreciate is its evenness on the palate from attack to finish. The salinity increases in intensity with residence in the glass, akin to some east coast Etna Carricantes that I have had in the past.
I tasted the Borgogno on the second day and this salinty did not come to dominate the wine as I had feared. It was still a noted feature, but not unpleasantly so.
I will be evaluating the Vietti entrant next week.
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