Franco Martinetti and the use of oak in Colli Tortonesi Timorasso wines

I had mentioned Franco Martinetti twice in my depiction of the Early and Late Modern histories of the Timorasso variety: (i) his procuring of the Timorasso pomace that was used by Antonello Bocchino in the crafting of her sinle-variety Piemontese grappas and (ii) his collaboration with Walter Massa to produce the barrel-fermented and -aged Timorasso called Martin. In this post I briefly explore the man, the method, the wine.

Cosimo Torlo (Il Ghiottone Errante) describes Franco as "...certainly the most original, elegant, and refined lover of the pleasure of good living ... Franco was among the first to grasp the deep connection that existed between food and wine." And it is the recognition of this connection, and his actions based on that knowledge, that have driven Franco to the heights as "a major actor in the international food and wine scene." Franco's standing in those arenas is illustrated by the fact that (i) he is the only Italian to have been a member of the Académie du Vin de France and (ii) he has been the President of the Académie Internationale du Vin since 2003.

Franco was introduced to the joys of eating and drinking wine by accompanying his father on business trips and he continued his experiential pursuits during his own advertising career. He began to make his own wine in 1974.

Franco entered the wine market utilizing the French negociant model; that is, he owned neither vineyards or cellars. Today he makes wines in the Gavi, Colli Tortonesi, Barolo, and Barbera d'Asti zones. He drives superior product quality by (tastingbook.com):

• Choosing the ideal variety based on terroir, exposure, and age
• Supervising the pruning and thinning of the bunches in the vineyards
• Setting the harvest dates
• Selecting the grapes that will be used for the wines
• Establishing and supervising the fermentation and aging processes and duration. 

But it is Franco's work with the Timorasso variety that is of most interest to us at this time. Speaking about Franco's ties to the region, Torlo said, "... it is good that you know that it was he, who many years ago, was among the first to believe in the potential of that area."

In 1996 Massa and Franco Martinetti "began to exchange some considerations  on this vine and both decided to give a decisive acceleration in favor of quality by experimenting with rigorous and effective viticulture and oenological techniques ..." The collaboration resulted in trials (at the Massa facility) wherein Timorassa grapes were vinified and aged in barriques and, eventually, a 1997 barrel-fermented and -aged wine being given the nomenclature Martin (Brozzoni). The 1999 edition of Martin was awarded the coveted Veronelli Guide Sun Award.

Oak as both a fermentation and aging vessel is still a rarity in Colli Tortonesi. In a study on barrel-fermentation of white wines (S. Herjavec, et al., The quality of white wines fermented in Croatian Oak, Food Chemistry, 100, 2007), the authors stated thusly:

One of the practices used to intensify the aroma and flavor characteristics of white wines is to ferment the must in oak barrels ... Wines produced by fermentation and maturation in oak barrels have different flavor characteristics to those which have undergone barrel maturation only after fermentation in stainless steel. One reason for this is that actively growing yeasts are capable of transforming volatile flavor components, extracted from oak wood, into other volatile metabolites.

This metabolite transformation results in what Zac Brown, Winemaker at Alderlea Vineyards, describes as "better integration of the oak and softer mouthfeel when compared to a white that is finished and then transferred into oak barrel to age."

The figure below summarizes oak's contribution to the winemaking process; the associated details can be found here.

The chart below features Martinetti's oak-vessel wines but also presents his stainless steel entrant into the market. 

I have previously mentioned the high regard Veronelli had for the Martin but it will be interesting to taste these two wines side by side as a test of the Ibern-Gomez, et al., observations. According to the authors, "wines fermented in wood barrels are distinguished by the cession of oak wood compounds to the wine." Further, the authors compared control wines fermented in stainless steel to wines fermented in oak barrels and noted the following differences:

• Total phenolic content was higher for white wines fermented in oak barrels than for wines fermented in stainless steel tanks
• New phenolic compounds which are characteristic of oak wood (syringaldehyde, coniferaldehyde, sinapinaldehyde, scopoletin, 4-ethyl-guaicol, and eugenol (the latter two being volatile phenols)) were found in the white wines fermented in oak
• The gallic acid and 4-vinylguaiacol increased in white wines fermented in oak
• Browning in oak wood white wines was higher than for stainless steel white wines.
• Furfural, 5-methylfurfural, and furfuryl alcohol from thermal degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose were found in the white wines fermented in oak.

As it relates to sensorial analyses, the following was reported:

• Tasters described white wines fermented in oak as having golden hues
• White wines fermented in oak were described as having toasty and spicy aromas
• Probably due to the 4-ethyl-guaiacol and eugenol
• Tasters also described a coconut aroma for the barrel fermented wines
• Probably due to the cis-β-methyl-γ-octalactone detected.

Some Observations on Oak Use In Colli Tortonesi Timorasso

Even though Martinetti pioneered oak use in the region a while ago, there there has not been a thundering herd of adopters following along on the path. Of the wines in my data base, only Daniel Ricci (untoasted acacia and untoasted chestnut for aging), Cascina Gentile (1/3 of wine fermented in untreated oak), Vietti (1/3 of wine fermented in wood), Roagna (large oak casks for fermentation and aging), Mandirola (partial passage through wood and oak towards end of aging process), and Sassaia (barriques for fermentation and aging) are employing wood within their winemaking processes.

Writing in openingabottle.com, Kevin Day characterizes the Timorasso variety thusly: "Timorasso has a rich phenolic character, meaning the natural phenols and polyphenols in the grape yield a lot of aromas, flavors, textures, and characters." Kerin O'Keefe attributes depth, body, and complexity to the wine. In an earlier part of this post I noted that barrel fermentation is used to intensify the aroma and flavor characteristics of white wines. And Chardonnay, for example is well suited to that type of treatment. But Timorasso is intrinsically endowed with those characteristics. Research has shown that barrel-fermented whites have higher phenolic content than their SS-fermented brethren so the high-phenol Timorasso will be further enriched in this area.

Historically, aromatic white wines are kept away from barrel fermentation to prevent oxidation of the delicate aromas. It will be interesting to see how Timorasso aromas present after barrel fermentation.

All that being said, the structure of the Timorasso variety intuitively renders it an attractive candidate for oak treatment.

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