Derthona | Massa Vineyards

DENOMINATION: Colli Tortonesi DOC
TYPE: white
GRAPE VARIETY: timorasso 100%
REGION OF ORIGIN: Italia, Piemonte
AGEING POTENTIAL: 2/3 anni
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 8-10° C
GLASS: calice da vino bianco di media ampiezza
ALCOHOL: 14%
SIZE: 75cl

THE WINE

TECHNICAL SPECIFICS

FRESHNESS: ◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎
BODY: ◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎◻︎
SAPIDITY: ◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎◻︎
SOFTNESS: ◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎

NOTES FROM OUR SOMMELIERS:

👁 characterized by straw yellow colour of medium intensity;

👃🏻 the nose reveals a fruity (ripe yellow fruit) and floral (acacia flowers and lime) bouquet with a subtle citrus aroma;

👄 on the palate the sensations are warm, related to the alcohol level, balanced by remarkable mineral freshness; it is a long and persistent white wine, with great intensity;

FOOD PAIRINGS

Walter Massa’s Derthona is a wine characterized by freshness, softness and warmth, thanks to its alcoholic structure.
For these reasons it matches with both first courses based on aromaticity and freshness of taste, and second courses with high taste-olfactory persistence.
It goes well with fish-based first courses, cheeses, white meats and medium-structured fish. It’s perfect with the local Robiola di Roccaverano.

REFINEMENT

This Derthona comes from one of the most famous cru of the territory cultivated with Timorasso: Walter Massa's wine is a pure expression of the homonymous vine. 
In the vineyard, as little interventionism as possible is practiced, and in the cellar, the process is coherent, with spontaneous alcoholic fermentations and refinement of the liquid on the fine lees.

YOU WILL LOVE IT FOR

its freshness and softness.

ORIGINS

TERROIR

The area of origin is the Tortonesi hills, which is surrounded by a sweep of cultivated fields, vineyards and orchards that represents a natural continuation of the Po Valley up to the mountain chain of Lower Piedmont, where the Alps give way to the Apennines.

 Here, in the Tortonesi hills area, there are many white grape varieties such as: cortese, favorita, müller-thurgau, pinot bianco, pinot grigio, riesling italico, riesling renano, barbera bianca, chardonnay, sauvignon, sylvaner verde and timorasso.

Timorasso is especially a rare – excellent – Piedmontese variety, autochthon to the province of Alessandria saved from extinction by Walter Massa, from which aromatic and drinkable wines are obtained, and which is also used in the distillation of grappa. Even though its production is limited, the highest quality is the highest. The wine produced from timorasso grapes (called Derthona, from the ancient name of the territory) is a real gem, very appreciated by professionals.

WINERY

The centuries-old history of Vigneti Massa, a winery in Monleale in the Tortonesi hills, is focused on that of the current owner, Walter with his total dedication to the winery. 

Walter’s idea was brilliant, because on the one hand he realized that timorasso could be the basic grape variety for a great wine, on the other hand, his strong determination made him spread this extraordinary white wine first outside his area, then in the region and finally beyond the national borders. Obviously Walter applied this dedication also to barbera, croatina and freisa, which he has always vinified as nobly as possible. Walter's story is linked to that of his territory, where he is working with the attitude of a "beacon" (together with many "vertical" wineries like his own) to indissolubly link timorasso and Tortonesi hills: Derthona is the appellation that we must learn more and more to identify timorasso in its original terroir.