Timorasso is the name of a rare Piedmontese grape variety. It had almost disappeared; barely a hectare remained when a winemaker near the town of Tortona decided to save it. We should all be grateful to Walter Massa since timorasso is undoubtedly one of the most interesting white grape varieties of Piedmont, or perhaps even of the whole of Italy, giving great wines of both elegance and depth. Here’s the story of DOC Colli Tortonesi Timorasso and some wines to look for.
Italy is one of the countries fighting for first place in the World Competition of Grape Diversity (if there were one). More than one country claims that “we have the largest number of grape varieties”. But it is true that wherever you go in Italy, you tend to run into one or another grape variety that you have never heard of and that is (almost) only grown there.
It can’t be easy to have a world-famous neighbour. Far too few people go a step beyond Barolo, and these days also Barbaresco, when they think of Piedmont wine. Yes, Piedmont has built an outstanding reputation on its nebbiolo appellations, but there is so much more to discover in Piedmont. And you can find truffles everywhere.
A shorter version of this article has been published on Forbes.com.
The timorasso revival by Walter Massa
Timorasso languished for a long time as an insignificant and unappreciated white table and blending grape in the area around the town of Tortona, an hour and a half east of Barolo and a good hour south from Milan. There they made mainly sturdy red wines based on barbera and this grape variety was slowly pushing out timorasso.
In the 19th century, it used to be one of the most planted white grapes in Piedmont, together with cortese. It is said to be difficult to grow, it can ripen unevenly, making it difficult to harvest good grapes and is easily attacked by diseases. So when phylloxera struck and all vineyards had to be replanted, most growers replaced it with something else.
But when Walter Massa started to work with the family winery, just east of Tortona, he decided to try something different. He felt that the region was perhaps more suited to white grapes than to red, that the barbera wines did not show the potential of the region. And he happened to have some timorasso in his vineyard.
In the late 80s, Walter made his first wine from 100% timorasso, probably the first winemaker to do so, at least in a very long time. It was an experiment to see what it gave. He had found not even 500 timorasso vines in his vineyard. In 1987 there were only 0.5 hectares left of timorasso. That was probably mostly Walter Massa’s less than 500 vines. Today, the Colli Tortonesi (the “Tortona Hills”) is, fortunately, an appellation that is growing. Today, the plantings of timorasso have grown to 175 hectares. More than fifty wineries produce timorasso wine today. But the production is still limited, only 800,000 bottles are made.
DOC Colli Tortonesi Timorasso
Most of the producers are small family wineries that have been motivated by the enthusiasm – and success – of Walter Massa to revive the grape variety. There’s also a cooperative uniting 200 smaller growers and a small number of “outsiders”, some famous names coming from the well-known red-wine neighbour, notably Vietti and Fontanafredda/Borgogno, attracted by the qualities of the grape variety and the success it has had.
Today, the wines are sold as DOC Colli Tortonesi Timorasso, but there are plans to introduce the denomination Tortona Timorasso, or even use the name Derthona which is the old name for the town of Tortona. Already today, many producers choose to put Derthona on the label as a distinguishing mark.
The Colli Tortonesi produces many other types of wines, the old favourite barbera, as well as dolcetto, croatina, cortese, moscato, favorita and freisa. There’s even a sparkling version. But it is perhaps timorasso that has the most potential for international fame.
Timorasso wine is a wonderful combination of stringent acidity and depth. The acidity is indeed quite high and therefore very refreshing. The wine has sometimes been compared to chenin blanc and riesling with its citrusy freshness. But timorasso also has a mouth-filling character. It can give you the impression of having been fermented on the skins – skin-contact maceration for whites often give a certain mouth-feel – or even give the impression of having been barrel-aged. But the body comes mainly from the grape itself, sometimes together with yellow fruit aromas and nuts. But some producers are also experimenting with skin maceration, with exciting results, or simply do a slow pressing to get a little bit of extra extraction.
With a few years of extra ageing in the cellar, the wines can develop characteristics similar to the “petroleum” you can find in some aged rieslings or the “dry honey” and almonds that you can find in older chenin blancs.
Timorasso goes excellently with many types of food. Its citrusy acidity refreshes the palate and the weight it has in the mouth makes it stand up well even with more flavourful foods. A classic combination, that you should try if you have the opportunity, is with the local speciality the Montebore cheese. It is a strong-flavoured cheese made from a mix of cow milk and sheep milk. It is easy to recognise thanks to its pyramidal or (a small) wedding-cake shape. Just like timorasso, Montebore had almost disappeared until an enthusiast revived in in the late 90s.
Price-wise, timorasso is certainly not a cheap wine. But that was to be expected, wasn’t it? Excellent wine is rarely cheap. Shop prices in Europe start around 15-20 euro and go up to two or three times that for some cuvées.
Here are some of my favourite producers from an extensive tasting of a good portion of all the wineries that make Colli Tortonesi Timorasso. But I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them, if you find someone else, so try the one you can find.
Luigi Boveri – the Filari di Timorassi is excellent.
Ezio Poggio – his 2014 has developed lovely petroleum notes with the extra couple of years.
Casina Gentile di Daniele Oddone – a family winery since 1968, experimenting with skin contact. Delicious wines.
Vigneto Repetto – the owner, Gian Paolo Repetto, is the driving force in the grouping promoting timorasso. An elegant and fresh Quadro and a powerful Origo.
I Carpini –an (intentionally) slightly oxidised Timox and a quite original smoky Brezza d’Estate.
La Colombera – today run by a talented female winemaker whose grandfather was convinced by Walter Massa to plant timorasso, which we are thankful for today.
Mandirola – with a small patch of possibly the oldest timorasso vines, 90 years. Classic fresh timorasso.
And, of course:
Vigneti Walter Massa – from the man who saved this Piedmont treasure from extinction.
A few more names to look for:
- Cantina di Tortona,
- Vignaioli Battegazzore Mombisaggio,
- Cantine Volpi,
- Vietti,
- Massimo Pastura/Cascina la Ghersa,
- Borgogno
Try these or any other Colli Tortonese Timorasso that you can find. My only regret is that I have not tasted more of them.
