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

Navigating the waves of a post-modern Timorasso environment

The Early Modern history of the Timorasso variety was characterized by decline, despair, invisibility, and replacement while its Late Modern history is defined by revival, refinement (of the variety's viticulture and viniculture), and recruitment (of local producers and customers). The world took notice of what was going on in Colli Tortonesi and came calling. The developments around this "foreign" contact forms a major portion of what I call Timorasso's post-Modernism.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Timorasso is a body-rich, white wine a characteristic that is partially responsible for the interest of "foreign" players.

The earliest external interest in Timorasso predated the post-Modern (whose origin date I am establishing as 2010). The earliest case of non-local Timorasso activity was the collaboration between Massa and Martinetti which resulted in the production of a barrique-fermented and -aged Timorasso (Martin), the first vintage of which was the 1997. The owners of Cascina Montagnola did purchase property and begin production of wines in the region as far back as 1988 but they did not plant Timorasso vines until 2003 and introduced their first wine on the market in 2006. With this length of presence in the region I do not think that they qualify as outsiders.

As shown in the table below, outsider interest began with Cascina La Ghersa in 2007, with a gap until the early part of the 2010s, with a rush of entrants in the last two years of the decade.

Table 1. "Non-Local" market entrants by year of initial vintage.

Initial Vintage	Producer	Producer Origins	Timorasso Holdings	Source(s) of Purchased Fruit
2007	Cascina La Ghersa	Moasca	Casasco and Sarezzano; 1.8 ha
2013	Fontanassa	Gavi	?	?
2014	Roagna	Barbaresco	Montemarzino; 1 ha
2015	Borgogno	Barolo	Monleale; 3 ha
	Cascina Gentile	Capriata d’Orba	?	?
2018	Broglia	Gavi		Costa Vescovata
	Sassai	Capriata d’Orba	Profigate and Ca’ del Borgo; 5 ha	Castellania and Monleale
	Vietti	Barolo	Monleale; 4.1 ha
2019	La Spinetta	Asti	Montegioco, Monleale, and Montemarzino; 5 ha
	Monilia	Barolo	Monleale; 1.5 ha	Monleale
	Reis	Langhe and Monferrato		Sarezzano
N/A	Alvio Pestarino	Capriata d’Orba	Stazzano; ?
	Pio Cesare	Alba	?; 2.5 ha	Vho
	Voerzio Martini	La Morra	?

Why did the identified producers launch these out-of-region initiatives? According to Franco Ziliani (Italian blogger and wine critic) the factors driving these producers towards Timorasso wines are as follows:

• They are impressed by the work of Massa and his disciples
• They understand the greatness of Timorasso
• They want to expand the the range of their reds with an important white
• Vineyards are a bargain in Colli Tortonesi when compared to the sky-high costs in Barolo and its surrounds.

From the perspective of selected market entrants:

• Vietti was impressed with the characteristics and future outlook of Timorasso
• Pietro Oddero thinks that Timorasso "is the most interesting indigenous white variety in Italy."
• The Reis team decided to do a project as a group and wanted it to be something challenging. Given cost and availability constraints, it most likely could not be in Barolo. The Timorasso venture is a testament to the friendship as well as the potential of the variety.

On the other hand, did the "locals" welcome these "foreigners?" And what advantages did they see accruing to the region as a result of their presence?

• Walter Massa saw these entrants as advantageous because of their perceived ability to market Timorasso in foreign markets
• Conrad Mattern, a distributor of Timorasso wines in Germany, "senses mixed feelings among the "locals"as regards the new, high profile entrants... They like what these big-name producers can do in terms of marketing Timorasso but, on the other hand, these are large producers and are accompanied by a 'smidgen' of industrialization.
• Gian Paolo Repetto, head of the Consorzio,  and Proprietor of Vigneti Repetto, feels that these entrants have been a "blessing" in that they have raised the profile of the region
• Marco Volpi of Cantine Volpi is supportive of those who come in and buy vines and gives a nod of approval to the Barolo producers in this regard. "Those who come into the region and invest are making a positive contribution and should be encouraged."

Breaking from the base Wine Style in the Post-Modern

Massa and his band of Merry Timorassists spent a large part of the Late Modern getting the Timorasso recipe just right. And they were very successful. So much so that the rest of the world began to take notice; and to come around.

Once the formula was established, producers began to experiment to see: (i) if they could make a better wine or (ii) if they could differentiate by putting their personal spin on it. And though the "foreign" producers were major players in this shifting of the goal posts, as shown in the figure below, local  producers were also in the mix.

During this period, the Timorasso offerings expanded from a standard dry white wine to incorporate orange, sweet, and sparkling styles. In the case of the standard dry white wine, the changes were wrought by different fermentation and/or aging vessels. For illustrative purposes I will highlight the production styles of La Morella and Sassaia.

La Morella sources the Timorasso grapes for its wine from Carrezano Superiore and macerates it on the skins for 60 days. The wine is then fermented in stainless steel to 30% completion, at which point 70% of the wine is removed and placed into 2500 l Austrian oak casks until fermentation is complete. The wines are then aged separately in oak and stainless steel for 1 year. One month before bottling the oak- and SS-aged wines are blended.

The Sassaia team ran a number of tests to determine its most relevant wine style. Higher-potential-alcohol grapes were vinified locally using (i) the traditional stainless steel method and (ii) hyperoxidation in neutral barrique. The lower-potential-alcohol grapes were harvested in 5 - 6 kg bins and shipped to Gevrey-Chambertin for further processing.

In the barrique-fermented and -aged wine, the oak used was 100% new; in the future Sassaia will be targeting 25% new oak.

The Terre di Libarna Subzone

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 as well as 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. Terre di Libarna, on the other hand, is colder in the winter, has a 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 mary originating in the Lower Oligocene.

Ezio Poggio is the third generation of his family to farm in Val Borbera. He initiated his Timorasso-recovery project with the aid of his sister in in 2003 when they began working with local farmers as well as planting new vineyards. His first was harvest was booked in 2008. Ezio's ongoing work to showcase the differences between Val Borbera and Tortona Hills Timorasso was rewarded with the former being awarded subzone designation in 2011. The subzone Terre di Libarna is illustrated in the figure below.

Processing Timorasso Wines outside the Colli Tortonesi Region

This was a non-issue prior to the arrival of the non-local producers. My first encounter with this phenomenon was my research finding that Borgogno transported its Timorasso grapes back to its main Langhe facility for processing. The first producer that I had the opportunity to discuss this with was Marco Volpi of Cantina Volpi. He feels that the region should be attracting capital and he is not necessarily on board with allowing "foreign" producers to buy grapes and process them outside the region and still get to affix the DOC label to their wines.

In my conversation with Gian Paolo Repetto, I asked him 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. 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.

The Sassaia wine produced in Gevrey-Chambertin in 2019 obviously could not be labeled Colli Tortonesi. However, since Derthona "was still just a registered trademark and not yet submitted to the region as the proposed new appellation name, the consortium permitted Sassaia the use of DERTHONA without Colli Tortonesi Timorasso."

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.

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The Timorasso grape has gone from the brink of extinction to a high-potential, high-expectation variety whose future now lies in the hands of the marketers and the consumers. The producers, led by the inimitable Walter Massa, developed a base wine that gained the world's attention and now a second wave of producers are seeking to expand the envelope of exactly what is  a Timorasso wine. Through it all, the wine's characteristics continue to shine through. The post-modern era is still in its youth; it will be interesting to see the developments along the way

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Assyrtiko, Carricante, and Timorasso: Three peas in a pod?

The consistent threads that have emerged through my tastings of Timorasso wines are salinity, bright acidity, and mineral notes. This combination of aromas, tastes, and textures calls to mind for me wines made from Assyrtiko and Carricante in their native regions. 

In this post I seek to validate, or discard, my assertions as to the similarities of these wines. The post will examine the varieties in alphabetical order.

Assyrtiko

The Assyrtiko grape, according to Yiannis Karakassas MW (one of the world's leading expert on this variety), probably originated on the volcanic island of Santorini from whence it spread to other parts of Greece and other regions of the world. Today Santorini is home to 800 ha (40% of Greece's plantings) of Assyrtiko vines.

According to Yiannis, there are key differences in Assyrtiko grown in different parts of Greece. "If you have a scale with minerality on one side and fruit on the other, Santorini comes down hard on the minerality side, with high minerality, saltiness, and evaporating smoke. If you go to mainland Greece, the Assyrtiko is broader, with more fruit. In the islands, the Assyrtiko is balanced between fruit and acidity."

Diving further into Santorini Assyrtiko, Yiannis sees these wines as having/being:

• A distinctive taste of rocks and salt
• Tight and firm in its youth with stone or tropical fruit aromas, depending on the ripeness, along with the telltale rocky saltiness.
• Vertical and powerful on the palate with the unique combination of high alcohol (up to 15.5% abv) and high acidity (pH can be as low as 2.8 and TA as high as 7.5 g/l).

The Santorini Growing Zone

The 73-square-kilometer archipelago of islands, the southernmost landmass in the Cyclades chain, lies 113 km to the north of Crete, the largest and most populous of the Greek isles and itself famed for its ancient Minoan society. Santorini is one of the European Union's protected designation of origin (PDO) regions with PDOs for dry and sweet white wines. The characteristics of the zone are summarized in the chart below.

In addition to the lack of moisture, another significant challenge to Santorini viticulturists is the stiff wind that buffets the island during the growing season and could damage the berries if they were exposed to the elements.  The solution that has been employed for eons is to (i) eschew vine density and (ii) train the vines such that they can afford protection to the otherwise vulnerable berries.  Vine canes are intertwined and trained into a circle and the berries grow within this protective cordon.  The circular structure can be positioned above ground or in a below-ground hollow where the top of the vine is parallel to the surface.

Source: Winesfromsantorini.com

Santorini vines are, for the most part, in excess of 50 years old.  Vines are retained until the yield is almost zero or when the vine dies.  When the vine is no longer productive, it is replaced by a branch from a nearby vine which is buried to a depth of 30 cm into the soil.  After that branch has developed its own roots and has begun producing berries (a period of between 3-5 years) it is cut away from the tethering parent.

Wine Styles

Santorini Assyrtiko dry wines conform to the following styles:

• Classic -- taut; made from 100% Assyrtiko
• Blended with Athiri and/or Aidani; wines are broader and softer
• Lees aging
• Few months to two years on lees
• Fills out the mid-palate and balances the bright acidity
• Can add more complexity
• Oak -- best examples display a creamy, toasty complexity.

Aging

Due to demand pressures and the cost of library maintenance, the Santorini producers have not built out extensive libraries of their wines. Yiannis recently conducted a seminar on aged Assyrtikos and noted that (i) the wines can age but are inconsistent and subject to bottle variation and (ii) brilliant examples exhibit no signs of fatigue, showing, instead, pale colors and nutty, toasty characteristics.

Carricante
This section draws from my original research, email exchanges with Benjamin North Spencer and Brandon Tokash, and Benjamin’s book The New Wines of Mount Etna.

Carricante is an ancient white variety -- prevalent on Mt Etna's eastern face -- that yields low-potassium, low-pH, high acidity wines (benanti.it). The bunches are of average length at ripening, with medium-sized berries of a green-yellowish color.

Carricante (tenutaterrenere.com)

Frank Cornelissen, one of the leading winemakers on the mountain, has historically viewed the variety as too acidic to produce world-class wine. Ian d'Agata, author of Native Wine Grapes of Italy, on the other hand, is quoted in Szabo's Volcanic Wines thusly: "potentially one of Italy's greatest cultivars ..." that "... when properly tended to, yields wines of great longevity and intense mineral character."

The variety (The New Wines of Mt Etna):

• Is the result of a natural crossing between Montonico Pinto and Scacco
• Is the primary white wine grape variety on Mt Etna
• Produces pale yellow wines with beautiful freshness and savory flavors
• Is most often blended with Catarratto, Minella Bianca, and non-aromatic Sicilian varieties to create sophisticated still table wines with great aging potential
• Is productive, but when grown above 400 m, the loading decreases and the quality improves
• Exhibits a slight petrol or kerosene scent in some wines
• Produces its best examples in the Milo area of Mt Etna.

According to Salvo Foti, famed Sicilian viticulturist, Carricante vines have to be somewhere between 10- and 15-years old in order to begin giving great concentration. Salvo said that both his father and grandfather worked Carricante and the wine's high acidity was extremely important in the days before widespread access to refrigeration. The wine is also great for raw fish, the main dish in the area.

There is a saltiness in the east side Carricante that is lacking in wines made from grapes grown on the north side of the mountain. 

A few years ago I attended Contrada dell'Etna and drank only the white wines from Etna's east and southeast flanks in order to imprint the characteristics of those wines on my senses. The key observation coming out of that exercise was as follows: 

As is the case for the Santorini Assyrtikos, Carricante-based wines from the east to south flanks of Etna are characterized by salinity, minerality, and acidity and, at optimum, these characteristics meld extremely well. These characteristics also allow the wines to age well (based on my experiences drinking aged Benanti Pietra Marina wines). While the characteristics of the wines are consistent, the quality of individual wines will vary based on winemaking practices, elevation, soil composition, and other related factors.

The Growing Environment

Mount Etna has a mountain climate in a southern setting. In general, warm days, cool nights, winter snow, winds, and sunny days. The steep vineyards grow on well-drained volcanic soils which forces the vines to dig deep in search of nutrients. Vineyards are planted to high density with a low-yield training system. Labor intensity is high. 

Climate in the area of interest
As shown on the below chart, growing conditions in the east and southeast differs from the conditions in the north and southwest.

Derived from Nesto and di Savino

The southeast and eastern slopes are unprotected from the autumn and winter rains but the combination of rapid runoff and early morning sun contribute to their attractiveness as growing regions (especially for whites).

The volcano's southeast flank experiences markedly different climatic conditions than north-slope-resident wineries. First, it is warmer in the southeast than in the north; 4 to 7 degrees warmer, as a matter of fact.

Second, with no protective layer of mountains, the region bears the full brunt of the wind and rain coming in off the Ionian Sea. In the fall and spring, dry winds form over North Africa, pick up moisture over the Mediterranean, and barrel into the Sicilian coast at upwards of 50 miles an hour. These winds are called Scirocco and an event can last from 1/2 day to several days. The wind makes it easier to farm organically as it helps to keep mold at bay.

Third, the southeast is unprotected from the autumn and winter rains but the combination of rapid runoff and early morning sun contribute to its attractiveness as a growing region 9especially for whites).

Wine Styles

Etna DOC has established the following requirements for its white wines:

• Etna DOC Bianco -- to be made from Carricante (> 60%), Catarratto (< 40%), and up to 15% of other non-aromatic grapes such as Minella or Trebbiano
• Etna DOC Bianco Superiore -- to be made from Carricante (> 80%) and Catarratto or Minnella (< 20%). All grapes to be sourced exclusively from the area of Milo on the eastern side of the volcano.

According to The New Wines of Mount Etna, young Carricante is quite shy. It has a "pale color  with subtle aromas and flavors of white flowers, pear and citrus." If blended with Minella, that variety adds a "spicy, white peach profile to the blend." The 100% Carricante wine is a "crisp Etna Bianco with increased acidity, temperate fruit, and saline flavors" with the finest wines showing their best after 4 years in the bottle. 

In conversations with Benjamin and Brandon, they had the alcohol of the Carricante wines ranging between 11% and 14.5%, with the most fine (Benjamin) at 13%. 

Aging

According to The New Wines of Mount Etna, the best flavors arrive through extended aging. As the wine ages, "the light citrus profile ... evolves to sun-dried citrus zest, ginger, herbs, and toasted almonds."

Only three Superiore producers (Brandon) use oak. For Benjamin, oak adds roundness, a sense of body, subtle autolytic characteristics, a creaminess, and concentrated flavors. Brandon prefers his Etna Bianco Superiore unoaked. He "really enjoys the salinity, minerality that sometimes vibrates on the lips, fruit, and acid that shines through. It gives an ummuddled sense of layered clarity that integrates well with aging."

Timorasso

Kerin O' Keefe (one of today's leading Italian wine experts) refers to Timorasso as "one of the most exciting wines coming out of Italy right now" which "boasts more depth, body and complexity than many Italian whites." Berry Bros and Rudd, a historical UK wine retailer, tags the wine as "one of the most exciting autochthonous grape varieties to surface in recent years." These, and many other such laudatory comments, have been directed at wine made from the Timorasso variety.

Characteristics
"Timorasso is a native grape variety of the province of Alessandria, with a quality white-berried grape, grown essentially in the Curone, Grue, Ossona, and Val Borbera valleys, in an area where the vine finds a valid 'habitat' thanks to the soil, sunshine and the position sheltered from the winds" (Consorzio).

According to stradacollitortonesi.com, the Timorasso variety is a part of the ampelographic heritage of Liguria, Piemonte, Lombardia, and Emilia Romagna and is assumed to have originated somewhere between Liguria and Piemonte. The characteristics of the variety are shown in the chart below.

D'Agata identifies a "first degree parentage relationship between Lambruschetto and Timorasso while the Lambruscos from Emilia-Romagna were genetically distant."

Cultivation Challenges

Cultivation of the variety is challenging and has partly been responsible for it going from one of the most planted white varieties in Piemonte to being convincingly supplanted by Cortese in Alessandria. Elisa Semino (quoted in Civita del bere): "... difficult to follow in the vineyard, because it has thick foliage and the shoots must be well-managed: they must be sorted in the row when they are still young so as not to break them. It has good production but requires green pruning to rebalance the right amount of branches/vine."

In a conversation I had with Marco Volpi of Cantine Volpi, he mentioned that the variety had experienced a steady decline over the preceding century due to (i) the amount of work required in the vineyard, (ii) its susceptibility to illness, and (iii) its relatively low yield. For the best results, he said,  the grape has to be harvested at optimal ripeness but care has to be exercised in this pursuit as it is susceptible to sunburn. Leaves have to be removed to provide access to sunlight but should not be the leaves that provide direct shade from the sun. 

In response to a question regarding the pros and cons of Timorasso, Gian Paolo Repetto (Vigneti Repetto) 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. 

The Wines

Writing about Walter Massa wines in Wine Spectator, Kerin O'Keefe states thusly:

When young, Vigneti Massa's full-bodied Timorasso wines boast alluring floral scents, creamy apricot and apple flavors, and bright acidity. As they age, they gain in mineral complexity and boast dried fruit, almond and honeyed notes seamlessly balanced with fresh acidity. I've tasted numerous vintages over the years, and the wines evolve beautifully for at least fifteen years. As the vines get older, these superb whites may increase their aging potential.

I tasted a 2016 Cascina Montagnola Morasso and reported as follows:

Light gold color. Viscuous in the glass. Sage on the nose at first blush. Elevated, high-toned, and elegant, initially. Sea spray and lemon grass. Weighty on the palate, with spice, acidity, minerality, salt, lime, and a bitter character, all preceding a cupric finish. This is a complex wine. With a little time, a slatey, rocky minerality emerges, along with a furriness reminiscent of a tannin texture. The palate is fully cleansed with each new taste. With further residence, petrol, lychee, phenolic, saline, menthol, and spice notes along with a saline-acid-pine mix on the palate. Broader on the palate with time. An excellent wine.

Growing Environment

In the past, the vineyards were widespread in the valleys previously mentioned, valleys which are "notoriously wild and difficult for many agricultural crops." The Timorasso vine prefers poor and marginal soils with especially limited water reserves. The current Timorasso growing environment is illustrated in the chart below.

The average vineyard size in the chart above is based on a total of 43.2 ha spread over 18 vineyards. It should be noted that Volpe (10 ha) and La Spinetta (5 ha) represent almost 1/3 of the total hectares. If their numbers are removed from the population, the average vineyard size declines to 1.76 ha.

Observations

• These wines have similar profiles as it relates to salinity, acidity, and minerality but Timorasso is more aromatic and structured than either the Assyrtiko or Carricante
• The Timorasso and Assyrtiko present a higher alcohol profile than does the Carricante
• Both the Timorasso and Carricante exhibit petrol notes with age
• The use of oak is much more advanced in Santorini than in Etna Bianco Superiore or Timorasso but Timorasso has the stuffing to handle oak well
• Surprisingly low levels of malolactic fermentation across the three environments
• Volcanic soils in Santorini and Mt Etna; Calcareous clay dominant in Colli Tortonesi.
• Low rainfall levels in Colli Tortonesi and on Santorini; significant rainfall on the east flank of Mt Etna.
• Relatively stressed vines in each location
• Strong winds from sea in all three locations.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Sassaia (Capriata d'Orba, Alessandria, Piemonte): A sophisticated Timorasso startup

Sassaia is a unique and exciting Monferrato-based, Timorasso newbie that is bringing a whole lot of firepower to bear on the problem of producing a high-quality wine that contributes to the image that now cloaks the region. The estate, owned by Italian-American Enrico de Alessandrini, will meld estate and sourced Colli Tortonesi fruit, technology aids, science, and winemaking expertise to ramp up quickly and build a wine capable of making inroads in the international -- especially the US -- markets.

The material presented herein was developed during an extended GoToMeeting session with Enrico and his detailed email responses to a number of follow-up questions.

Enrico de Alessandrini's Personal Journey

The Alessandrini family roots date back to Trento in the 1400s where the ancestors were legal and trade councilors to the nobility and Court Physician to three ruling emperors. Enrico's grandfather moved to Genova in the early 1900s to follow family manufacturing interests and married into a family with Genoa roots. The newlyweds purchased a villa and land in Piedmont between Ovada and Gavi, the selfsame location where Sassaia resides today. 

Enrico's father was the physician for Portofino before eventually migrating to the USA where he practiced medicine and was Italian Vice Consul in Virginia. Except for 4 years of study in Italy, Enrico was educated in Virginia. His economics degree, and an additional master’s in business, led him to the world of finance where he focused on commodity investing in the agricultural, industrial, and financial sectors. 

Enrico exited the financial commodities business in 2012 and entered the wine world by first importing wine and then investing in vineyards. His interest evolved to wine making and a search for a mentor to teach him how to produce lower alcohol and low-to-no-residual-sugar wines with more freshness and fruit. The search led him to Pierre Naigeon of Gevrey Chambertin. Their collaboration began in 2016 and eventually led Enrico to the University of California--Davis to pursue his Wine Making Certification.  

Enrico di Alessandrini and Pierre Naigeon
(Source: https://sassaia.com/)

Strategy and Philosophy

Sassaia's goal is to focus on two core wines (Timorasso and Nebbiolo di Monferrato) with a stable of international varieties serving as gateways to the indigenous base. The guiding principles employed in pursuit of that goal are illustrated below.

Physical and Built Environments and Farming Practices

Sassaia farms 18 ha of land between Alto Monferrato and Colli Tortonesi. The Monferrato soil is (i) of marine origin, (ii)alkaline, (iii) with a calcareous limestone and sandstone subsoil which, in some sites, has a chalk presence. I have covered the Colli Tortonesi soils in a previous post.

The distribution of varieties planted at Sassaia vineyards are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Varieties planted at Sassaia vineyards.

Grape	Variety	Planted Hectares	Percent
Reds	Nebbiolo	2.5	42
	Dolcetto	2	33
	Cabernet Sauvignon	0.7	12
	Sangiovese	0.5	8
	Syrah	0.3	5
Total Reds		6	100
Whites	Gavi	6	50
	Timorasso	5	42
	Chardonnay	1	8
Total Whites		12	100

The Sassaia vineyards are SQNPI (National Quality System of Integrated Production)-compliant. This European certification "is issued by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture on the basis of the farmer's records and chemical tests on the leaves of the final products ... the goal is to preserve environmental biodiversity, minimize the use of pesticides and ensure correct management of the cellar. This model derives from the most advanced European practices Integrated Farming and Integrated Pest Management."

In addition to the above estate-grown fruit, Sassaia sources Timorasso grapes from a number of producers in the Monleale and Castellania communes.

The Timorasso Pursuit: The Early Years

Enrico and Pierre began experimenting with a Burgundian approach to local and international varietals  in 2017. The Timorasso fruit for the 2018 test was sourced from the Castellania commune and was processed in the traditional stainless steel method. The vineyard contract allows Sassaia to direct and mange practices such as training, vine tieing, and leaf fertilization. 

Further, the vineyard is mapped to the ENOGIS GPS system which provides the capability of using satellite technology to track vine vigor, development, and health. This capability is key in aiding harvest decisions, allowing Sassaia to harvest at low-enough alcohol to allow indigenous-yeast fermentations. It can also be used to determine if the fruit has the stuffing to complete fermentation without YAN additions.

The project came to the attention of Carlo Ricagni, Director for CIA Alessandria, who found the wines "fresh and more approachable much earlier than most." Given the team's interest in Timorasso, Carlo led them to Walter Massa. According to Enrico, both Pierre and he immediately bonded with Walter. From those meetings a plan was devised wherein Pierre would run a few Timorasso trials in Burgundy and report on the results.

Constructing the Sassaia Timorasso Production Architecture (The 2019 Project)

After meeting Walter, the Sassaia team's interest in positioning Timorasso as one one of the two focal points of the enterprise increased. Such a focus demanded the development and implementation of a production architecture, a task which proceeded along two tracks: (i) vineyard establishment and (ii) selection of the production style.

Vineyard Establishment

The team came to the conclusion that its goals, as regards Timorasso wine production, required estate-grown fruit. To that end they sought the counsel of Walter Massa and he recommended sites in Profigate and Ca de Borgo in the Monleale commune. A total of 5 ha of vineyard land was purchased in these two areas.

The vineyards were planted to scions from the original Old Vines on rootstock pertinent to the soil type and average rainfall of the vineyard. The trellis posts are higher-than-standard to facilitate more airflow among the vines and reduced disease pressure.

The Sassaia Timorasso physical and built environments are illustrated in the chart below. The vineyards will begin production with the 2022 vintage.

Grapes will continue to be sourced from the Castellania vineyard at least up until 2022.

Selecting a Timorasso Wine Style

The Sassaia team ran a number of tests to determine the most relevant wine style. Sassaia already had access to grapes using its Castellania contract but, based on Walter's recommendation, also sourced grapes from the Monleale commune for the effort. The higher-potential-alcohol grapes were vinified locally using (i) the traditional stainless steel method and (ii) hyperoxidation in neutral barrique (I am really excited to taste the hyperox wine as the high phenolic content of the Timorasso grape makes it an excellent subject for this wine style. You can learn more about hyperoxidation by viewing my explanation of the topic here.). 

The lower-potential alcohol grapes were harvested in 5 - 6 kg bins and shipped to Gevrey-Chambertin for further processing.

The barrique-fermentation process is illustrated graphically below.

In the barrique-fermented and -aged wine, the oak used was 100% new; in the future they will be targeting 25% new oak.

The Wines

The 2018 vintage was produced in the classic style and is labeled Colli Tortonesi Timorasso. According to Enrico, the alcohol was 14.5% and this level did not allow the indigenous yeast to complete the fermentation. They had to inoculate and the wine ended up with 2 grams residual sugar. Partial malolactic fermentation in stainless steel with the wine spending approximately 1 year on lees prior to bottling.

Pale yellow-gold in color. Tight surface tension but lower viscosity than some of the wines I have encountered.

Citrus, hay, marine, and bruised apple notes initially. Burnt orange, citrus skin, and slate. Light of body. Citrus and citrus skin prevalent. 

Fleshes out on the palate with residence. Bitter, nutty, and textured. Spicy finish.

With the further passage of time, sweet fruit and honeyed, waxy nose settles into a saline-licorice-sweet fruit nose. Salinity and slatey minerality with a long, hot finish. 

Locally produced 2019 vintage wines are labeled Derthona Timorasso Colli Tortonesi. Both of these wines are presented in Bordeaux-style bottles.

The 2019 hyperoxidation experiment was high enough in alcohol that it required inoculation. At the conclusion of alcoholic fermentation the wine registered 1.5 grams residual sugar and .60 volatile acidity (acceptable but on the high side of the < .4 goal. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation.

The wine produced in Gevrey-Chambertin in 2019 obviously could not be labeled Colli Tortonesi. However, since Derthona "was still just a registered trademark (and not yet submitted to the region as the proposed new appellation name) the consortium permitted Sassaia the use of DERTHONA without Colli Tortonesi Timorasso."

This wine has an exquisitely aromatic nose. A ceiling of rich, sweet white fruit (Gewurtz, lychee) marshals a complex interweaving of green herbs, spices, and lemon-lime notes. Unresolved barrel notes on the palate. Medium weight and smooth. Evenness of transit from the attack to the finish. Green herbs, smoke, and sour butterscotch. Focused and elegant with a lengthy finish.

The oak added richness, roundness, and complexity, along with smoke and butterscotch flavors, while softening some of the citrus notes found in the 2018 stainless steel version.

By the second day, this wine had taken on all the characteristics of a young Puligny-Montrachet: barrel notes, spice, smoke, and mint on the nose; unresolved oak on the palate along with lemon, bright acidity, and minerality. Textured, with a lemony-lime finish. 

I loved this wine. And it is not yet ready. The intent is to release it as a Riserva and it is recommended that it be held until September 2022. It will only improve with time.

The winery’s intent is to reduce the oak used from 100% new to 25% new with the 75% neutral containers including Clayver technology. In my opinion, though, it would be a shame to let the current formulation die on the vine. It is too good. The winery may want to consider retaining this formulation as the Riserva and using the more neutral composition as an earlier-release (2 years?) wine. This cultivar is powerful enough to handle oak with ease so maybe the winery’s efforts should be focused on exploiting the various avenues branching off this path.

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The plan going forward is to produce a Derthona and Piccolo Derthona using the traditional stainless steel method and to produce a high-end, Riserva-type wine using barriques for fermentation and aging. Enrico will also work in the future towards separating the pressed wine and blending the components prior to bottling.

The Sassaia team has invested a lot into this project and it will be interesting to see if this mix of technology, science, and Burgundian expertise yields a unique, high-quality wine. The early trials opened the right doors. Lets hope that the current and future work opens consumer minds and wallets.

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