MCF Rare Wine
Timorasso's Time
There are many white grapes from Italy that I think are ascendant in terms of quality and worldwide esteem.
Fiano is one.
Grechetto is another.
The one, though, that's already well on its way to turning its home region into a white wine hot spot is definitely Timorasso.
On the strength of the mad scientist Walter Massa, some have come to know the beauty of this most unique grape, but consider me on a mission to make it more widely appreciated.
I'm psyched to share these wines from these two producers who, something tells me, you'll start to hear a lot more about in the years to come.
The Ezio Poggio estate sits in the Terre di Libarna, one of the more austere sub zones of the famed Colli Tortonesi. Here, the altitude and wind contribute to a much cooler microclimate, one that allows for long hang time and later harvests.
This fantastic cuvée, the Caespes 2021, made from four separate plots of Timorasso, is a lovely, linear, highly aromatic example. All of Timorasso's intriguing nuttiness and texture is here, but with a high-toned, herbaceous and racy feel, that's also so beautifully elegant, as well. The casual profundity here is really quite fabulous.
Then we have two fantastic examples from Claudio Mariotto, another producer doing fantastic work in the Colli Tortonesi. Like the Poggio, Mariotto's style is decidedly more linear than many of their contemporaries, but, compared to Poggio, Mariotto's is less 'free-spirited', if you will, and more classic and refined.
His flagship Derthona 2019 is everything you want out of a textbook example of Timorasso - fragrant, zippy, delicately nutty/savory, mineral and focused to the core. It might actually be the paradigm for sub-$30 Timo, if you ask me.
Then we have Mariotto's stunning single-vineyard Derthona Pitasso 2019. Take everything I said above and just kick up the texture, complexity, gravitas and overall deliciousness, and that's what you're dealing with here. Truly amazing stuff.
Oh, and I almost made it through a Timorasso email by forgetting to mention that what makes this grape so truly profound is its ability to age. All of the wines here will do just fine in your cellar for the next 5 years at least (more like 10).
They will lose that freshness and precision, but what they'll gain in the form of waxy, wooly, nutty, savory complexity will truly blow your mind.
It's Timorasso's time to shine...
EZIO POGGIO
Terre di Labarna Caespes 2021
CLAUDIO MARIOTTO
Derthona 2019
Derthona Pitasso 2019
You may also order by replying to this message or calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
Looking for a wine you loved from a past newsletter or a favorite you can't find anywhere? Email Raphael at raphael@mcf-rarewine.com, and we'll do our best to find it for you!
