Monday Bonus 3-22-21

Italy – Piedmont

Back in stock! Borgogno is one of the most distinguished names in Piedmont. The wines are made in a traditional fashion, but with more attention to detail, care, and better farming. What has resulted from all of this hard work is some of the region’s most incredible and age-worthy wines.  Timorasso is a native white variety that has the potential to become one of the world’s classic cellar-worthy whites. Don’t fret if you’ve never heard of Timorasso, it nearly went extinct during the 20th century. But it has since been revived and is developing a cult-like following in Piedmont and beyond. 

Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Derthona Timorasso Colli Tortonesi, Piedmont 2018 750ML ($69.95) $54.50 special
Grapelive 94 point “A few years ago, Walter Massa of Vigneti Massa almost single handedly brought the rare Timorasso grape back from extinction and now it is one of the hottest white wines made in the Piedmonte region. We are seeing many great producers jumping on the bandwagon, including the famed Vietti and this beautiful expression by the legendary Barolo maker Borgogno. Tasted at Slow Wine earlier this year, the 2018 Borgogno Derthona DOC should be arriving to the United States soon, though you’ll have to really work hard to get your hands on it as it is extremely limited, but you’ll be greatly rewarded for your hard work and search if you get your hands on it. Borgogno’s Timorasso from organic vines is lightly floral, medium bodied with a lovely texture and fine minerality. It delivers a polished and lively performance highlighting the grape’s best qualities with layers of peach, citrus and quince fruits, leesy notes, white flowers and an array of herb and spices along with a nice saline and wet stone element. Derthona is the ancient name for Tortona, the town in southeast Piemonte, hence the appellation Colli Tortonesi (Tortona Hills) name. The Timorasso is widely believed to be one of the longest-aging white varieties in Italy, with many of the producers saying it takes a few years to get itself together in the bottle, adding a depth of flavor and making more of a palate impact with honeyed notes. It deserves serious attention, going well with a variety of foods including poultry, pork and fatty fish and decedent shellfish, even lobster or crab dishes. The Borgogno Timorasso doesn’t come cheap compared to other examples, like the Massa, which I also recommend trying, but it is a gorgeous white wine that is joyous rarity, that will be great addition to the cellar or a special occasion. The Borgogno Dertona DOC comes from the Monleale, [an area of] mostly hillsides around Tortona set on classic clay and limestone soils with good ripening coming from the great southeast and southwest exposures. [The terroir makes] for a more full bodied version, in some ways like the dry rich Alsatian Rieslings, but with a bit more softness and opulence, like Burgundy, especially when allowed to age. This 2018… is very refined and has remarkable clarity with a delicate light pale color and subtle acidity, which is very rounded. Borgogno, also known as “Giacomo Borgogno & Figli” which was founded back in 1761 by Bartolomeo Borgogno, was one of the very first elite Barolo producers and has an amazing track record for great wines, with their Nebbiolo bottlings being some of the most desirable wines in Italy. The Farinetti family acquired this historic winery in 2008, but is firmly committed to quality and the estate’s traditions… The 2015 marked the first vintage of their Timorasso white after the purchase of vineyard sites and the conversion to all organic practices. Borgogno also brought back the use of concrete for fermentations to give an extra element of classic and soulful expression to the wines throughout the range…”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Monsecco Pratogrande Nebbiolo Colline Novaresi, Piedmont 2016 750ML ($27.95) $23.50 special
Importer note “Here, the grand Nebbiolo takes center stage, a wine made exclusively from this noble grape and harvested from vineyards outside of the Gattinara and Ghemme delimited zones but still in hillside sites on the slopes above and around the towns on the eastern shore of the Sesia river. Manual harvest occurs normally during the second half of October. The Zanetta family gives this wine a shorted maceration than it applies to the Gattinara but then the wine is aged in large (15 hectoliter) ‘botte’ for two years before bottling and then left to age an additional year before being released to the market. It is a fine and elegant wine with subtle tannins, bright cherry flavors and a persistent finish that again emphasizes the complex mineral composition of the underlying soils.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Italy – Umbria

Paolo Bea Santa Chiara Bianco Umbria IGT 2017 750ML ($59.95) $49 special
Importer Note “The second of Bea’s two early and highly influential skin-macerated white wines, “Santa Chiara” hails from the fabled Pagliarocru, and combines roughly equal proportions of five varieties: Garganega, Grechetto, Malvasia, Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. Everything ferments together, without any additions or temperature regulation, in stainless steel, and the wine is given several years of settling before being bottled without fining or filtration. The rich, forward 2017 spent 28 days on its skins, and was bottled in May 2019 after 20 months of aging. Compared to the relatively racy 2013 “Arboreus” and the typically chiseled 2016 “Lapideus,” this vintage of “Santa Chiara” swaggers out of the bottle with macerated peaches, brassy spice notes, a liberal dash of white pepper, and candied citrus. Despite its somewhat explosive and brash personality, it possesses terrific drive and a focused, tannin-derived sense of architecture.”


Italy – Friuli

Gravner Ribolla Venezia Giulia IGT, Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2011 750ML ($99.95) $79 special
Decanter 93 points “Glorious vivid amber colour. Elegant and complex with aromas of dried fruits, earth, citrus zest, and honey. Amazing for its age.”
Importer note “Exclusively composed of the local Ribolla grape; fermented in Georgian amphorae buried underground; long maceration with wild yeasts and no temperature control; after fermentation, the wine rests again in amphorae for five more months and then is aged in large oak barrels for an additional six years; bottled without fining or filtering. Certified organic.”