Conrad Mattern, whom I have previously described as the number one Timorasso fan, places La Colombera at the apex of Colli Tortonesi Timorasso production. In his view, "Walter Massa, La Colombera, and Claudio Marrioto are the 'Triumvirate of Timorasso; that is, their wines represent the pinnacle of Timorasso production."
I recently had the honor of interviewing Elisa Semino, the estate's winemaker, via Zoom to discuss the region, the estate, the variety, the estate's wines, and the future of the foregoing. Elisa is an open and enthusiastic interview subject and I came away enriched. I report on our conversation in this post.
La Colombera History
According to Elisa, her great-grandfather came to Vho from the small town of Montemarzino in 1937. They established the La Colombera farm on Monte Colombino (not really a mountain) where they grew grapes and grain and raised chickens and animals. Her grandfather expanded the grape growing but it was left to her father -- Piercarlo -- to introduce winemaking on the farm. He ceased selling grapes and sold bulk wine to private clients who came into the fold via word-of-mouth.
Walter Massa had been talking to them about Timorasso but the first "collaboration" was La Colombera purchasing used barriques from him in 1998 to house their best Barbera grapes. The wines produced from this vintage was called Elisa and was the estate's first commercial label.
La Colombera made the decision to plant Timorasso in 1997. At that time they farmed 20 ha and grapegrowing was limited to red grapes and a little bit of Cortese. The soil is Tortonian (the origin point of the band that continues through Barolo) and, from their perspective, was best suited to red grapes. But, on the other hand, Timorasso was born in Colli Tortonesi so would probably flourish if planted in the "right" places. They set out to find the right spots in their vineyard through experimental plantings in 1997, 1998, and 2000. The first Timorasso label was the 2000 vintage. There was a subsequent Timorasso planting in 2005. The 2006 was the first vintage of the cru Il Montino.
La Colombera Today
The farm currently holds 25 ha of land and, as at its founding, continues to operate a polyculture. In addition to the vineyards, the farm grows 15 ha of grain, grows fruits, and raises animals and chickens. Grape-growing is distributed as follows:
- 15 ha in Vho. This is the traditional La Colombera home, with plantings of Timorasso, Barbera, etc. The Il Montino cru is located in this holding.
- Cascina Machetta -- planted to Barbera, for the Monleale label, and Timorasso
- Santa Croce -- a Sarezzano plot bought in 2017. Planted to 2 ha of Cortese and 3 ha of Timorasso with 3 additional ha of Timorasso coming online in 2022.
Elisa was absolutely giddy when talking about the Sarezzano property. This land sits on the hills above a limestone quarry which has been inoperative for well nigh 100 years. The deal was closed prior to completion of the soil analysis which, when completed, showed a striking similarity to the soil of Il Montino.
The Timorasso Variety
La Colombera is very happy with the variety. Timorasso is in the DNA of Colli Tortonesi: "one region, one grape." According to Elisa, people only drank red wines in the 1990s. She remembers when she was in University in Milan, Professor Scienza told her that it was very good that she was pursuing the Timorasso variety. It is cyclical, he said. People are going for red wine now but in 10 -15 years they will be pursuing a big white wine (This should be considered within the context of Professor Scienza having been in contact with Walter Massa regarding Timorasso beginning in 1992).
To Elisa, Timorasso is a great variety which makes a great, long-lived, mineral wine.
The terroir is well-suited to the variety. The soils are similar to Langhian soils but Colli Tortonesi is warmer and has less rain in the summer.
The variety has benefited from a warming environment. Thirty years ago, the farmers harvested partially ripe Barbera in the middle of October. Ripening was a problem for Timorasso in this environment. It was not warm enough; plus there was rain in the middle of October. In today's world, fully ripe Barbera is harvested in the middle of September and Timorasso is fully ripe in that same timeframe.
Viticulture
La Colombera farms organically but is not currently certified. No herbicides or pesticides have been used on the estate in the past 15 years. Grass is planted between the vineyards rows and is mowed twice per season (depending on the need). Vines are trained Guyot.
Vineyards are cleaned at the beginning of September and are harvested by hand when the Timorasso grapes have attained a golden color.
Winemaking
Grapes from all the Timorasso vineyards are vinified and aged separately. Elisa uses seven different vineyards in Vho and Sarezzano as sources for grapes for her Derthona wine. The grapes for Il Montino comes from the Vho cru of the same name.
The grapes are neither destemmed or macerated. They are soft-pressed and placed into stainless steel tanks for indigenous-yeast fermentations. The fermentations begin at 15℃ and end at 18℃. The wine remains on lees (with batonnage) for 9 months. The Derthona wine is blended prior to bottling to ensure uniformity.
Notes on Elisa's winemaking:
- She does not macerate because that brings in a different style of wine. She is producing a traditional Derthona
- She loves the minerality that comes with Timorasso wine. In her view, the minerality comes from the grape and the sapidity from the soil
- Her Derthona is a Timorasso classico. In the future, it is possible that they will extend beyond just the Montino cru; Santa Croce, for example, is a "fabulous place."
- It is also possible that they may use barrels in wine production in the future. The Timorasso from Santa Croce is an interesting grape and it is possible that they may use barrels on the grapes from that plot in the future. It would most likely be big barrels in order to minimize wood uptake in the wine.
La Colombera Timorasso Wines
The estate produces two Timorasso wines: Derthona and Il Montino. The Derthona is classic in that it is a blend of multiple vineyards. She expects to see honey, peaches fruit and minerality in this wine. I have previously reported on my tasting of an edition of this wine.
In the Il Montino, you get the best Timorasso vines in La Colombera. It is also the earliest Timorasso vineyard in the estate, planted as it was in 1997.
During my conversation with Elise, I tasted the 2018 vintage of this wine. A complex mix of aromas on the nose: apple, orange, tangerine, sweet fruit, minerality, limestone, sea spray, and spice. Smooth and open on the palate. Full, round mouthfeel. Sapidity, with a long, spicy finsh.
"Foreign" Producers
Famous producers are now arriving in the region. In her view, this is a sign of respect for the region; they believe in the variety and are planting it in its home region. Many of these producers are locating in Monleale, primarily because it is the home of Walter Massa, but some are branching out to communes such as Sarezzano.
The local producers have excellent relations with the newer producers who are simultaneously helping to introduce the variety to the world while helping to preserve the patrimony at home.
Elise hinted at the potential of two new Langhe producers entering in the Sarezzano commune. My attempts at drawing her out were unsuccessful.
Timorasso Vintages
I asked Elisa about past vintages that she had liked. She liked 2005 (unique because of the first use of malolactic fermentation), 2006, 2017 (full-bodied but nervous) and 2020 (preferred for its acidity).
The Future
For the region, further establishing Derthona as Timorasso from a specific place, the original home of the variety. Anyone, in any region, can plant Timorasso vines but only Colli Tortonesi producers can make Derthona wines. Key to this is the approval of the Derthona appellation. According to Elise, this will probably occur with the 2021 vintage.
Secondly, maintaining the artisanal nature of the wine and region while increasing the international profile.
For La Colombera, the future is "Timorasso, Timorasso, Timorasso." They are also in the process of building a formal tasting room. They have historically tasted wines with customers on Saturday and Sunday but more and more visitors are coming into the area, seeking to taste the wines in place. The new tasting room will seek to capitalize on, and provide the infrastructure for, these customer visits.
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