Hello! Welcome & Welcome Back!
It means so much to me that you took the time to subscribe to this wine club and, more importantly, chose to spend your hard earned money with us. This month's club release is focused on the wines of Piedmont, or Piemonte for you Italophiles. Its principal city is Turin and its name means "at the foot of the mountains," belying its proximity to the Alps. Its principal and most famous wines are the Nebbiolo based wines of Barolo and Barbaresco with Moscato d'Asti coming in a close second, at least in the name recognition game. (Pro tip: Moscato and duck fried rice with pineapple.) But, as longtime customers, who have washed down plenty a meal with Barbera or Dolcetto, know, a thousand books could be written on Piedmont.
These are both very serious wines coming to you at an amazing price and they continue a drum beat I've been carrying on for some time. First, we should all be drinking more Italian whites, especially in the summer. Surely, Trebbiano Abruzzese makes some of the finest white wines in the world, but Arneis, Cortese, Garganega, Greco, Verdicchio, Vermentino—we deserve them all. The white wine I am bringing you, however, is from the obscure, but I think potentially truly great, Timorasso grape variety. The Oxford Companion to Wine only dedicates two scant sentences to the variety. It was at near extinction in the 1980's, with only 1.2 acres left as of 1987, but has been revived after the success of one winemaker in particular. There are now 430 acres planeted to the variety with varietal wines made by 51 producers. As a wine, Timorasso is a wonderful combination of stringent acidity and depth. The acidity is indeed quite high and refreshing. It 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 having been barrel-aged. But the body comes mainly from the grape itself, sometimes together with yellow fruit aromas and nuts.
The red is more traditionally recognizable, but still underappreciated in my opinion: cru Barbaresco. Barolo outsells Barbaresco at a two to one clip at a minimum. I've regularly experienced customers balking at Barbaresco when they want a wine for dinner tonight, settling only for Barolo. This is a shame and this is the second flag I've been waiving for a long while. Drink more Barbaresco. It is the same grape variety as Barolo, but due to its lower lying hills and closer proximity to the Tanaro river (not to mention clonal plantings), the wines are accessible earlier than its stern nieghbor 15 miles down the road. You get all of that beautiful and haunting Nebbiolo complexity in a slightly more elegant and acessible package—what's not to love? These are two great wines I am really excited about. I truly hope you enjoy them!
The Gist on the Wines
The Timorasso Derthona 2023 comes from several vineyards on their property, planted between 1997 and 2000. The vines are located between 900 to 1,000 feet above sea level. The soils include both light and dark limestone-rich clay. Harvest takes place typically in the middle of September. The grapes are macerated in the press for three hours before pressing; the wine is then fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, and aged on the fine lees for at least 10 months before bottling. Derthona is the old name for the city of Tortona. Timorasso is the grape variety that best represents the hills around Tortona, as this white grape was born here. The white wine it produces is structured and elegant, capable of aging for a surprisingly long time in a bottle. On the nose the young wine shows notes of baked pear, honey, acacia, hawthorn blossom, and chamomile, developing smoky and mineral notes with age. The palate is opulent but never heavy, with citrus and herbs keeping everything in check. Serious stuff.
Since 1670, the Negro family has been cultivating vineyards in the hills of the Roero and realizing the viticultural potential of this relatively undiscovered subregion of Piedmont. The estate encompasses 70 hectares of vineyards surrounding three properties: the ancestral Cascina Perdaudin in Monteu Roero, the San Vittore farmhouse in Canale, and the farmhouse in the Basarin cru of Neive. Hailing from the village of Neive, the Barbaresco "Basarin" 2021 originates from a south-facing parcel in the Basarin vineyard, long prized for wines demonstrating lush fruit and approachable structure. Vinified in a traditional style with nearly one month of skin contact followed by 24 months in 25-hectoliter Slavonian botti, this single vineyard Barbaresco boasts complex balsamic and spice notes, sweet tannins, and exceptional balance. Decant for at least two hours, or open and pour a quarter glass for breakfast while saving the rest for dinner. Steak, braised meat, or mushrooms are your friend.
The Details on the Wines
La Colombera, Timorasso, "Derthona," Piedmont, Italy (2023)
The story of La Colombera is a story of farming tradition, started by great-grandfather Pietro, then Renato, then Piercarlo, and now Piercarlo alongside his children Elisa and Lorenzo, five generations of the Semino family dedicated to the soil. Since 2000 the identity of our region, the Colli Tortonesi, has become increasingly tied to the Timorasso grape, which originated in this area and which finds its best expression here.
The clay-based soils on the hill where they farm, can be found are both light and dark in color with a lot of white stones. They decided where to plant our different varieties based on the kind of soil in each plot. All of thier wines are made from estate-grown fruit. Their Barbera, Croatina and Dolcetto vines are from clonal selections, our Cortese, Nibiò and Timorasso are massal selection. Timorasso was planted in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2010, and 2016, Croatina in 2000, Cortese in 1977 and 1999, and Barbera in 1961, 1977, 1984 and 2000. They farm using organic practices, although aren’t certified. They use only sulfur and copper sulfate for mildew diseases, and work the soil under the vine row mechanically; they haven’t used weedkiller since the early 2000s. They feel these practices improve the soil, which then has a positive effect on the grapes and the resulting wines.
The Timorasso Derthona 2023 comes from several vineyards on their property, planted between 1997 and 2000. The vines are located between 900 to 1,000 feet above sea level. The soils include both light and dark limestone-rich clay. Harvest takes place typically in the middle of September. The grapes are macerated in the press for three hours before pressing; the wine is then fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, and aged on the fine lees for at least 10 months before bottling. Derthona is the old name for the city of Tortona. Timorasso is the grape variety that best represents the hills around Tortona, as this white grape was born here. The white wine it produces is structured and elegant, capable of aging for a surprisingly long time in a bottle. On the nose the young wine shows notes of baked pear, honey, acacia, hawthorn blossom, and chamomile, developing smoky and mineral notes with age. The palate is opulent but never heavy, with citrus and herbs keeping everything in check. Serious stuff.
Angelo Negro, Nebbiolo, "Basarin" Barbaresco DOCG, Piedmont, Italy (2021)
A land survey discovered in the archives of Monteu Roero offers evidence of more than three centuries of history binding the Negro family to these lands. This survey attests that, in 1670, "Giovanni Dominico Negro, son of Audino" was the owner of a farmhouse with a cellar, courtyard, and rows of vines in the same area where the prestigious Perdaudin (“for Audino”) vineyard is located today. Here in the ancient “Podere di Audino,” Angelo Negro, known by the diminutive “Angelin,” was born in the early twentieth century. The family’s original vineyard holdings were limited to two hectares, which yielded roughly 15 demijohns of wine annually.
In 1949, Angelo Negro and his wife, Gertrude Ferrero, had Giovanni, who chose to follow in his father’s footsteps at a young age. Giovanni’s passion, tenacity, and self-sacrifice resulted in the construction of his dream cellar, where he was ideally positioned to produce wine from the hills in which he was born. His choice to focus on autochthonous grapes vinified according to traditional methods along with a fierce dedication to quality rather than quantity earned impressive results. In the 1980s, the wines of Negro began to gain recognition, first throughout Italy and then at the international level. Through it all, Giovanni Negro has remained zealous in his role as the head of the estate with his wife, Maria Elisa, and their four children, Gabriele, Angelo, Emanuela, and Giuseppe, all of whom are enthusiastic members of the family business.
The estate encompasses 70 hectares of vineyards surrounding three properties: the ancestral Cascina Perdaudin in Monteu Roero, the San Vittore farmhouse in Canale, and the farmhouse in the Basarin cru of Neive. The family recently added a prestigious plot in Cascina Baudana, located in Serralunga d’Alba, to their holdings. Despite these vast holdings, the winery averages less than 30,000 cases produced per year. The estate also functions as a nursery, selecting the best vines to propagate by means of massal selection. Giovanni Negro’s maternal grandfather, Giuseppe Gatti, was, in fact, regarded as a trusted source for nursery stock.
Hailing from the village of Neive, the Barbaresco "Basarin" 2021 originates from a south-facing parcel in the Basarin vineyard, long prized for wines demonstrating lush fruit and approachable structure. Vinified in a traditional style with nearly one month of skin contact followed by 24 months in 25-hectoliter Slavonian botti, this single vineyard Barbaresco boasts complex balsamic and spice notes, sweet tannins, and exceptional balance. Decant for at least two hours, or open and pour a quarter glass for breakfast while saving the rest for dinner. Steak, braised meat, or mushrooms are your friend.
