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
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