Gian Paolo Repetto has regularly risen to the top of his chosen fields but has also managed to retain the humility and considerations of his origins. He was born on a farm in Colli Tortonesi and went on to found an engineering company where he worked for 30 years before returning and expanding the family farm to today's Vigneti Repetto, one of the most respected wine estates in the region.
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| Gian Paolo Repetto and his wife Marina |
But Gian Paolo did not leave his leadership, management, motivational, planning, and organizational skills behind in the corporate boardroom. Rather, he leveraged those skills in growing his business and brought them to bear in his role as the President of the regional Consorzio. I had the pleasure of speaking with Gian Paolo recently on an InstagramLive Chat about the present and future of his estate and the Timorasso variety.
Gian Paolo talks about his return to Colli Tortonesi as coming back home. His love for the area is multi-faceted:
- In his view, Colli Tortonesi is one of the most beautiful parts of Italy
- The area's future is bright
- The region is populated by "real" people
- It is not so business-oriented that human values are forgotten/ignored
- The area produces two of his favorite wines: Barbera and Timorasso.
Gian Paolo and Marina became serious about the enterprise in 2015. Prior to that they had taken a number of experimental steps.
According to Gian Paolo, Colli Tortonesi lies between Serravalle Scriva and Tortona and this translates to Tortonian soils in the north, Serravalian soils in the south, and Sant'Agata fossil marls in the middle (see here for my graphical illustration of this concept). The northern part of the zone has more clay, partially calcareous, partially less. This composition lends itself to wines with great structure. The Sant'Agata Fossili soils are rich in limestone and tend to produce mineral, sapid wines. The south has the highest elevations and young, rocky soils. The Timorasso wines from this zone are fine and elegant.
In Gian Paolo's estimation, global warming has been beneficial to Timorasso. Historically it had been difficult to grow the variety because of botrytis and rot prior to harvest. With global warming, the variety is able to attain full ripeness earlier and harvest occurs in the warmer mid-September period.
This combination of soils and early ripening makes Colli Tortonesi the best Piemontese terroir for exploitation of the variety. Monferrato, for example, is much more open and its soil and microclimate differs from that of Colli Tortonesi. Barolo and Barbaresco soils are similar to the soils in the north of Colli Tortonesi but the latter is warmer.
In response to a question regarding the pros and cons of Timorasso, Gian Paolo said that the only pro was the possibility of producing a great wine. That has to be balanced against a number of negatives:
- It is a difficult variety to grow
- Material sticks to the equipment during pruning and have to be constantly cleaned off
- Double and triple buds at bud break; these have to be cleaned out manually
- The short distance between buds are a disease risk
- Sunburn is an ever-present risk.
A grower with both Timorasso and Cortese in his/her vineyard will put three times more work in the vineyard for the former. Growers deserted Timorasso in the past because the market did not reward them for the effort expended. Consumers have now corrected this problem and are buying the wine at a price that is more reflective of its true production cost.
Vigneti Repetto
The estate sources its grapes from the mix of owned and rented vineyards shown in the map below.
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| Vigneti Repetto grape sources |
The owned vineyards are planted to 22 parcels which are farmed and (mostly) vinified separately. Vineyards are planted at altitudes ranging between 240 and 350 m, standard altitudes, according to Gian Paolo, for vine planting in the region. The vines are trained single-Guyot and are pruned using the Guyot-Poussard system (with an eye on getting ahead of any potential esca problem).
The vineyards are farmed sustainably. A portion of the farm is certified organic and the entire farm will be so designated in the future. Gian Poalo sees Europe's new plan for sustainable farming as the best way forward as it is really important to reduce the incidence of chemicals in the vineyard.
Nine hectares from the owned vineyards are dedicated to Timorasso plantings (some Timorasso is planted in the rented vineyards as well). The clay-rich soils provide a more structured, less mineral, less elegant wine while the limestone soil provides sapidity and hydrocarbon notes.
The Timorasso scions are massal selections secured from the Santa Maria nursery (No clones were available when they began planting.). The rootstocks utilized are Kober, 157.11, and Paulsen (on the hilltops, where the soils are thinner).
The Timorasso parcels are planted, vinified and aged separately. The harvest decision is based on tasting plus attainment of target levels of three parameters: sugar, pH, and global acidity. Weather is, of course, an overriding concern.
Individual parcels are harvested into small boxes and taken directly to the cellar. If the stems are green, the bunches are destemmed. If they are sufficiently ripe, the grapes are crushed before pressing. Some sulfites are added after harvest; when sulfites added prior to bottling is included, somewhere between 40 and 80 g of sulfur is added during the production process.
The estate produces three Timorasso wines (shown below). The Piccolo Derthona is a new wine for the estate.
Gian Paolo Repetto has described his Piccolo Derthona as “an entry level wine made from young vines and/or lower quality grapes. This wine has less structure, less body, and a lower price point than the Derthona. It exhibits freshness and is suitable for a wine bar.”
The Origo is complex, with a lot of tertiary aromas while the Piccolo Derthona is an entry level wine made from young vines and/or lower quality grapes. This wine has less structure, less body, and a lower price point than the Derthona. It exhibits freshness and is suitable for a wine bar.
I tasted the 2019 version of the wine and found saline green olive, a hint of sweet white fruit, and spice on the nose. It was very broad on the palate (wide open, I would say) with underripe citrus fruit and hints of salinity. No hint of the structure that is notable for this variety. The heat on the chest stands in contrast to the 12.5% stated alcohol on the label. Mid-weight, with average length.
Derthona Appellation
The Consorzio has submitted an application to the appropriate authorities for the designation of a Derthona sub-appellation within the Colli Tortonesi DOC covering the production of Timorasso vines within its borders. While Derthona is currently used on the labels of some producers, it is not an official designation. Further, it is a registered trademark of Walter Massa, who has encouraged its widespread adoption and use. The submittal covers a Riserva (released a minimm of 2.5 years after harvest), a Derthona, and a Piccolo Derthona (both requiring a minimum of 1 year aging). The difference between a Derthona and a Piccolo Derthona will be based on quality parameters as well as tasting panel assessments.
Some of the key quality elements of the upcoming appellation will be the designation of minimum altitudes in each commune as well as minimum alcohol levels for each wine type.
The Future
For Vigneti Repetto, they are currently building a new winery in the middle of the vineyard to replace the current structure which is 15 km away. It is expected that this cellar wil be ready for the upcoming vintage.
For the region, the outlook is bright. Their is huge interest in the region and its wines. Even with all the recent dislocation in the world, they were able to sell all the Derthona they produced. And it is not only the consumer interest that is encouraging; a number of big-name Barolo players have begun producing Timorasso wines and that has been a "blessing" in that it has raised the profile of the Colli Tortonesi region.
Colli Tortonesi is a small area but it is growing. They have to manage that growth and balance the quality risk versus growth rate. I asked Gian Paolo about any quality risks associated with grapes being trucked out of the area for processing. He indicated that those grapes could only be processed in Piemonte and the use of refrigerated trucks would mitigate against significant quality impacts (I did not point out the irony of him moving his cellar into the vineyards because 15 km was too far away while they allowed the grapes to be trucked many kilometers away.).
Gian Paolo indicated that processing location was something under active discussion at the Consorzio and that they may arrive at a scheme wherein they grandfather the status quo but limit new entrants to processing their grapes within the Colli Tortonesi boundary in order to claim the appellation label.
It is important to maintain interest in the appellation, says Gian Paolo, but it is also important to balance that with maintenance of quality.
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