La Colombera - 'Bricco Bartolomeo' - Cortese - Piemonte, IT - 2024

Notes from the Winery/Importer

'100% Cortese, planted in 1977 and 2000 in the middle of the Colombera hill, above the cellar. The altitude is 280-300 meters (900-1000 feet) above sea level. The vineyard is called Bartolomeo; the soil is limestone-based clay. The harvest is normally in the middle of September. There is a brief three-hour maceration in the press, then the bunches are pressed, and the must is fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged on the fine lees in these tanks for about 5 months, and is then cold-stabilized and filtered before bottling. There is less than 1g/L of residual sweetness in the wine (dry), and around 90 ppm of SO2 is added. Around 10,000 bottles are produced. This Cortese is pleasing and fruity; thanks to the aging on the lees the weight in the mouth balances the crisp freshness of the variety. Excellent aperitif and broadly useful food wine.'

Notes on the Producer

ABOUT La Colombera: I should have started importing La Colombera years ago. Timorasso is one of Italy’s most interesting white wine grape varieties, one of the few noble varieties that age well (the variety reminds me of Chenin Blanc, one of my favorite age-worthy white varieties); Elisa Semino of La Colombera is a brilliant and enthusiastic proponent of the variety, and of this region, the Colli Tortonesi; and she and her brother and father grow and vinify one of the best examples of it, as well as some other very good wines, including a delicious Croatina. Better late than never. Ian d’Agata describes Timorasso as ‘…crisp, high acid and very mineral; it will remind you of a very dry Riesling, with less sweet fruit when it is about five years of age or more. Before that, it has aromas and flavors of white flowers, unripe stone fruit, and bright citrus.’ Elisa Semino, who did her enology school thesis on the variety, makes two versions: the estate-bottled ‘Derthona’ (the old name for the nearby town of Tortona), and the single-vineyard ‘Il Montino.’ Montino is deeper, but the Derthona is an excellent introduction to the variety. “We have 23 hectares (57 acres) of vineyard in total. In December 2017 we bought another 10 hectares (25 acres) near Sarezzano, a whole hill of calcareous soil, perfectly suited to vineyards. We farm using organic practices, although we aren’t certified. We use only sulfur and copper sulfate for mildew diseases, and we work the soil under the vine row mechanically; we haven’t used weedkiller since the early 2000s. We feel these practices improve the soil, which then has a positive effect on the grapes and the resulting wines. All of our wines are made from estate-grown fruit. Our Barbera, Croatina and Dolcetto vines are from clonal selections, our Cortese, Nibiò and Timorasso are massal selection. The clay-based soils on the hill where our farm, La Colombera, can be found are both light and dark in color with a lot of white stones. We decided where to plant our different varieties based on the kind of soil in each plot. Timorasso, our best-known local variety, 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.” 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. - OIliver Mccrum - Importer