In 1985 there was half a hectare of Timorasso left on earth.
One grower in the village of Monleale thought that was worth arguing about. Walter Massa replanted it, bottled it under the old Roman name for Tortona, and other growers followed him into a corner of Piedmont that Barolo had spent a century overshadowing.
Forty-one years later there are more than five hundred hectares, a hundred and seventeen producers in the consorzio, and about 1.7 million bottles a year.
Last week the president of that consorzio said he wants to stop.
Gian Paolo Repetto told a room at Derthona Due.Zero that the consorzio is oriented toward bringing forward a proposal to block new plantings. Not because the grape is failing. Because it is working, and he would rather have five hundred hectares of Timorasso worth drinking than two thousand hectares of Timorasso worth selling.
Almost nobody does this. The reflex at this point in a grape’s life is to plant harder while the attention lasts. Prosecco went from a regional white to a global category by saying yes to every hectare that asked. Pinot Grigio did the same thing and spent the next twenty years explaining why it was cheap.
Capping supply while demand is still climbing is a decision that only makes sense if you are thinking about the wine in 2046.
What you are actually buying
Timorasso drinks like a white Burgundy with more grip and a saltier finish. Full-bodied, bone dry, built on acidity rather than fruit. Ripe pear and lemon peel first, then honey, almond, and a cold crushed-stone note that keeps all that weight honest. Young bottles can read tight. Older ones turn golden and get serious.
If you reach for Chardonnay because you want a white with texture, this is the more interesting way there.
Start with Vigneti Massa, because it is the reference point and because it comes from the person who saved the grape. After that: Claudio Mariotto, Vigneti Repetto, Cascina Gentile, Paolo Poggio. La Spinetta makes one too if you want a name you already know from Barbaresco.
The honest part
Timorasso is not a bargain underdog. Bottles start around thirty dollars and climb, and there is almost no cheap way in. US distribution is real but thin, mostly through specialist Italian importers rather than anything you will find at the grocery store. And young vintages can taste unfinished if you open them early, so part of what you are paying for is patience.
That trade is worth making. You should know you are making it.
One correction, because I nearly got this wrong
Several English-language write-ups have already reported the planting block as decided. It is not. Repetto’s words are that the consorzio is oriented toward bringing forward the proposal, which is a direction and not a vote.
I had it as decided in two drafts before I went back to the Italian and checked. I am telling you that because the difference matters, and because you should know what it looks like when I get something wrong and fix it rather than quietly correcting the file.
The vote has not happened. When it does, I will tell you what it said.
The full guide, with what to drink it with and where it actually turns up in the US: https://wineunderdogs.com/journal/timorasso
If someone forwarded you this: the Underdog Starter List is ten bottles under twenty-five dollars, what each one tastes like and what famous wine it replaces. Free. https://wineunderdogs.com/starter-list