The Colli Tortonesi Timorasso specification allows for grapes grown within the designated communes and processed anywhere within the Piedmont region. The perceived uniqueness of the wine made from Timorasso grapes grown in this area has driven producers to seek an official stamp of approval to differentiate such wines by the use of the word Derthona on the label. Ferdinando Principiano's both grows and processes Timorasso grapes outside of the Colli Tortonesi zone; the grapes are grown in his Serravalle Langhe vineyard. I discuss the producer -- and his Timorasso wine -- in this post.
Ferdinando Principiano attended Alba's Scuola Viticole Umberto-1 and graduated in 1993. Post graduation, he interned with Giacomo Conterno and Roberto Voerzio, producers at opposite ends of the traditionalist-modernist continuum. At the conclusion of his internships he joined his father at the family estate in Monforte d'Alba.
In his early winemaking career Ferdinando had his feet firmly planted in the modernist style of winemaking but is held to have made a turn to a more natural style in 2003 after observing that the bolder wines were "undrinkable with age." Today Ferdinando farms organically (uncertified) and produces "elegant natural wines."
The winery is best known for its Barolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto wines from Monforte and Serralunga but it also owns land in Serravalle Langhe (the Alta Langa DOCG region) where its Timorasso grapes are grown. The vines are planted on 1.4 ha of land at 750-m elevation and in soils composed of limestone, clay, and sand. The vines: face south, southeast, and southwest; are trained Guyot; are 10+ years of age; were planted in 2011; and are planted 4500 - 5000 vines/ha.
The grapes are fermented by wild yeasts in a process that extends from 20 to 30 days. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation occur in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged for 4 - 6 months in stainless steel vats and exposed to 40 - 60 mg/l sulfur and clarification prior to bottling.
This is probably a good time to compare and contrast the growing conditions and winemaking of the Principiano Timorasso to its Colli Tortonesi counterparts. From a climatic perspective, Alta Langa is not subject to the Po Valley effects of the lower Colli Tortonesi reaches or the marine influences experienced by its southern inhabitants. In terms of soils, Serravalle Langhe is similar to parts of Colli Tortonesi. At 700+ meters, the Principiano Timorasso vineyards are higher than any of the ones that I have seen to date in Alta Val Borbera.
Fernandino Principiano's Timorasso winemaking is similar to traditional Colli Tortonesi winemaking in the use of stainless steel tanks. The lower potential alcohol afforded by his early picking and the altitude makes it much easier to opt for indigenous fermentation. Like some of the Colli Tortonesi producers, Fernandino Principiano conducts malolactic fermentation after alcoholic fermentation. The major difference is in the length of aging whrein the Principiano timeframe aligns more with the Piccolo timeframe (4 - 6 months) than the Derthona timeframe (12 months).
I tasted the 2019 vintage of this wine.
A compacted, tightly wound nose with muted, honeyed white fruit, a waxiness, metallic minerality and green bark all intertwined. Austere on the palate. Taut, high-acid wine. Light-bodied with a green note. Hint of tannin on the lips and coating on the palate. No lees richness. This wine did not disabuse me of my love for Colli Tortonesi Timorasso.
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