Timorasso, the white winegrape from Tortona hills which is able to age in your cellar for 20 years.
Posted on: 27-02-2020 om 16:26:46
| Karina Imschoot
Derthona 2.0, the event organized by the Consorzio Tutela Vini Colli Tortonesi, at which we introduced the producers of Timorasso - the great Piedmontese white wine with the ripening potential of a red wine - was particularly successful. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Orsi Museum in Tortona was the arena where the new vintage 2018 and the older, almost twenty-year-old vintages were to be tasted. In this way it was possible to demonstrate the exceptional character of this wine.
Timorasso, the authenthic grape grown since the 14th century, is a vine that is extremely susceptible to rot and mould, with very variable yields. These characteristics contributed to the risk of extinction. Today the Timorrasso has returned to its favorite land, the Colli Tortonesi, in the Curone, Grue, Ossola and Val Borbera valleys, covering an area of 25 to 175 hectares in just ten years.
The Consorzio Tutela Vini Colli Tortonesi recently approved the Derthona sub-region, which should receive the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture before the 2020 harvest. The aim is to give this noble Piedmontese wine an identity and recognition, through its territory and history (Derthona is the name of Tortona in ancient Rome).
Contrary to the trend for a white wine, Timorasso is playing the card of the time, with the goal of marketing some "Derthona Riserva" selections 3 years after the harvest. And it is precisely time, in addition to the soil, the microclimate, the craftsmanship of the winemakers, that makes the difference.
When tasting the different vintages one can only conclude: Timorasso changes over time into a top elegant compatriot.
Our Timorasso Choice: Vigneti Repetto
The protagonists in this adventure are Gian Paolo Repetto and his wife Marina.
Gian Paolo, born into a farming family and raised in the countryside, initially decided to devote himself to his passion for mechanics and technology by setting up a company active in the plastics and metal processing sectors. Of course, this was not in the countryside.
The call of the terroir of his native region and the unique charm of the Tortona Hills, where vineyards touch the horizon, did the rest. Nature and technology, the first two sides of the same coin, now find the perfect synthesis in Repetto Vineyards, which aims to use the most modern techniques to reduce sulphites and harmful products in cultivation and cellar techniques and achieve a technologically advanced and sustainable agriculture.
The Tortona Hills, in the shadow of Mount Giarolo, consist of the Curone, Grue, Ossona, Borbera and Spinti Valley. Among the typical products, in addition to wine, there are porcini mushrooms, white and black truffles, Montèbore cheese (slow food) and the Nobile del Giarolo salami, to taste between a ride on the roads of Fausto Coppi, the Campionissimo, and a visit to the Museum of Pellizza da Volpedo to admire the "Quarto Stato" and other works known throughout the world.
Vigneti Repetti wants to eliminate chemistry and consumption, both in the vineyard and in the cellar. That's why they decided to make Timorasso wine with the help of the Elegir brothers who, with a lot of initiative and expertise, gave the life of one engineer and the other oenologist to VinoOxygen. This allows them to make wine without "travasi", so that sulphites are reduced to a minimum without risk to quality.
A few details
Two productions in particular Tmorasso (the most important) and Barbera
15 hectares total of Timorasso & Barbera
Since 1980, only 0.50 hectares have grown to their current status.
Wine that can age for 20 years in the cellar
Bear in mind that every action that one normally has to realize in the vineyard with this variant Timorrasso takes three times more time. Just because of their very high potential for mold, etc... they are very selective and more actions need to be taken in the vineyard. This explains the higher price of this wine compared to other grape varieties.
Soon these wines will be available on our site.
Our focus is on Derthona Quadro and Derthona Origo, the Riserva.
Besides the white wines, we also go for the Rosé Diagonale, the Barbera Quadro and the Croatina Eccentrico.
The next event where you can taste these wines is www.wijnfocus.be, organization of Commandery Kempen. All there on 7 and 8 March 2020.
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