In a Levi Dalton podcast following the announcement of the sale of Vietti to the Krause family, Luca Currado posited the arrangement as a partnership rather than a sale, saying that it provided the opportunity for the Vietti and Krause families to pursue other projects together in the future. The Vietti Derthona Timorasso lends credence to Luca's assertion.
Antonio Galloni has described the Castiglione-Falletto-based producer Vietti as "one of Italy's most historic wineries," credited with (i) being one of the first bottlers of single-vineyard Barolos and (ii) having revived the moribund Arneis variety in the 1960s. According to Antonio:
Winemaker Luca Currado, his brother-in-law Mario Cordero, along with their families and tightly knit staff, have taken the early groundbreaking work of Alfredo and Luciana Currado and built upon those successes, reaching an unprecedented level of consistency and quality across the entire range.
My first encounter with Luca and Elena Currado was at the Galloni Vietti Rocche di Castiglione Retrospective on May 10, 2016, where I had the honor of sitting next to Luca. I found him to be warm, personable, knowledgeable, and committed to his craft. My next encounter with the family was a visit to the estate in June of the same year as a part of the launch of Suzanne Hoffman's Labor of Love. Elena led our group on that tour and tasting.
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| With Luca and Elena at Galloni Vietti Retrospective |
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| Elena Currado and Suzanne Hoffman on our visit to Vietti |
Vietti stands among the big guns who have introduced a Timorasso wine to the market. Luca has described Timorasso wines as being akin to an Hermitage Blanc, and, given its acidity, maybe even a Chenin Blanc (Kevin Day, Openingabottle.com). It was this characteristic, and the future outlook for the variety on the world stage, that drove Vietti to pursue production of the wine.
Vietti secures grapes for this wine from three vineyards in Monleale (as shown in the chart below).
The Scalda Pulce vineyard is also the source of grapes for the Borgogno wine while Bosco Grosso is one of the grape sources for the Massa Piccolo Derthona.
The first commercially available vintage of the Vietti wine was 2018 but, according to statements by Elena, they had three experimental vintages in years prior where they sought to determine the type of vessel that would be best-suited for aging the wine. The characteristics that they sought to balance were oxygen exchange, lees contact, and acidity preservation and they eventually settled on a mix of stainless steel, ceramic, and wooden casks (It should be noted that Massa and his early disciples restricted themselves to the use of stainless steel for both fermentation and aging.).
The grapes are fermented for 4 weeks in the mix of vessels. There is no malolactic fermentation. Aging runs for 10 months in the same mix of vessels where the wines rest on the fine lees and are subjected to batonnage.
The Vietti Timorasso 2018 lighter in color than the Borgogno and La Colombera wines.
Sweet fruit, blackpepper, woody character, and a hint of tobacco on the nose. A complex melding of these characteristics.
Bright acidity exciting the salivary glands. Lime. Lighter-bodied than the Borgogno or La Colombera. Stony, mineral, slightly bitter finish. Operates on the upper level of the palate.
The Timorasso "beast" has been somewhat tamed in this wine. The wines that have really knocked my socks off exhibit a little more structure, salinity, and umami.
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