Vigneti Massa, Derthona Timorasso 2006 Colli Tortonesi and Frog's Legs with Nettle Sauce

J

Jeff Pinhey

Jeffrey Pinhey
I managed to fake my way into another tasting that was supposed to be for people who buy wine for restaurants and private stores. Amazing what people will accept as proof nowadays when you can make your own business cards at home....

Anyway, this was lead by Michael Palij, MW. He was showing a bunch of wines he imports to the UK, and then to points beyond, from small producers in Italy.

This wine is perhaps the most intriguing. Although I have to admit to being floored by a Dolcetto and a Trebbiano.... The best Trebbiano in the world, it had to be....

Anyway, the Timorasso was:

A pale yellow with floral notes, nuts, and perhaps talc, but with a taste that balances huge acidity with high alcohol while keeping a nutty, mineral, fruit, floral balance.

Palij described his initiation to the grape with a wine that was 20 years old and still amazingly spot on. The combined alcohol and acidity probably help with the life extension.

The next night, I managed to slip into a wine dinner put on for Palij by the local current head of the Slow Food movement here in Nova Scotia, Michael Howell. His job was to match the wines with different courses of food.

Somewhere online, he found a reference to someone having seen Walter Massa, the current proprietor of Vigneti Massa, chowing down on a meal of frog's legs in a nettle sauce with a bottle of his own Timorasso. So we got that - frog legs made into "popsicles", battered, and fried, and then we got to roll them in the sauce. A great success.

And my first ever frog legs.

This grape may have been the original Gavi source, replaced by Cortese after phyloxera. I think it is worth seeking out if you have not yet tried it.

Micheal mentioned that Jancis Robinson had, or will feature the wine on her site, so it may become more difficult to find.
 
What happens when people ask you what you do in the business?

I've gone to some trade events on slightly-trumped up premises and it can become awkward when some people ask what I do and I don't want to go into too much detail before they start wanting to do business. Plus there's the whole honesty thing.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Did you really print up fraudulent business cards at home to get into a trade only wine tasting?
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I joke about it - I do the wine list for one of the top places to eat in town. But it is a bistro and we keep the wines fun, but under $20 a bottle. We don't have business cards, so I made up my own.

I am, um, kinda "known" in town - don't really need the cards now. But I keep one or two on me in case.

Halifax is not that big a place. Plus, I can always "pass" as my brother, who is a wine writer, if I wear the right pair of glasses.
 
I love the Timorasso by Vigneti Massa. And the Monleale Barbera can be quite good as well.

I have been stopped in my tracks by more than one '07 Dolcetto of late. Some represent such strong value for the money it is almost astonishing.

A couple of the more interesting people I have met in the wine business got their start by sneaking into trade tastings. I know of one gentleman - a veteran at this point - who used to keep a suit in his car specifically for the purpose, just waiting for a phone call from his friend in the business indicating that there was a tasting to go to. I admire that kind of interest, actually.

Declaring "best Trebbiano in the world" is a fraught endeavour on several counts. Not least of which would be nomenclature. Which Trebbiano strain/name are we talking about? Is it 100% of one of those? Or is it perhaps a blend of, say, Trebbiano di Toscano and Bombino Bianco, which then very well might be referred to as "Trebbiano" by some, even though Bombino Bianco (also known as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo) is not related to Trebbiano di Toscano (Ugni Blanc), so far as I know. Then there is the not little matter of Trebbiano di Soave (Verdicchio), Procanico, and many others. It is doubtful that anyone (anyone) has a real grasp on all of the wines that could be referred to as "Trebbiano" enough that they could declare a world beating example.

And then there are the whole stylistic issues to contend with.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Say more about the dolcetto and the trebbiano, please.
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My notes were done very quickly. I bought these wines.

2007 Azienda Agricola Pecchenino, Dolcetto di Dogliani "San Luigi' DOC Piedmonte
Dark core with purple rim; Nose of dark fruit (plums?), red nibs, anise, oak?. Deep full bodied, rich but with tannins in support, slightly waterery at finish, will benefit from ageing.

2008 Azienda Agricola Nicodemi (Elena), Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, DOC Abruzzo
Pale gold, legs on glass seem to indicate more alcohol (was 13%), nose of lemon pie, creamy, citrus, pledge; Viscous wine in the mouth, toasty, mealy, full, maybe some sulfury bottle shock (just came from Italy by plane yesterday). In time it relaxes into a serious, enjoyable wine.... This is Trebbiano??

Oh, and I see on my notes that I said the Timorasso was 13.5% alcohol, and that it reminded me of dry vinted Furmint from Hungary, and the Posip I had from Grgich in Croatia. Some say Posip is Furmint.... Maybe it is also Timorasso?
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
What happens when people ask you what you do in the business?
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Sorry, I was being a bit careless there. The self deprecation was not that evident, though it was intended.

I manage the website and am on the Board of Directors for the local Professional Sommelier Association. There will only be about 2 people in the room at an industry event in this city who I don't know.

Engineer by day, Disorderly by night. Sometimes even in the afternoon.
 
Actually, given the quality of people at trade tastings with "legit" business cards these days, I'll take card-faking amateurs with enthusiasm any day.

Yes, that's irritatingly snobbish.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:


I have been stopped in my tracks by more than one '07 Dolcetto of late. Some represent such strong value for the money it is almost astonishing.
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No kidding. I was in Dogliani in the fall. Stumbled upon the Enoteca Regionale di Dolcetto di Dogliani down in that dungeon there. Was lost for a couple of hours. Some amazing wines. The guy seemed to not mind opening a few things for a Canadian.

Declaring "best Trebbiano in the world" is a fraught endeavour on several counts. Not least of which would be nomenclature. Which Trebbiano strain/name are we talking about? Is it 100% of one of those? Or is it perhaps a blend of, say, Trebbiano di Toscano and Bombino Bianco, which then very well might be referred to as "Trebbiano" by some, even though Bombino Bianco (also known as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo) is not related to Trebbiano di Toscano (Ugni Blanc), so far as I know. Then there is the not little matter of Trebbiano di Soave (Verdicchio), Procanico, and many others. It is doubtful that anyone (anyone) has a real grasp on all of the wines that could be referred to as "Trebbiano" enough that they could declare a world beating example.

And then there are the whole stylistic issues to contend with.
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Wow. OK, then so this may be Bombino Bianco? But would not one expect a MW who specialized in Italy to know that? If he mentioned it, I did not note it, and that is the sort of thing I do tend to record. How about this - it was the best Trebbiano I have ever tasted, and maybe the best I ever will.

He also poured a lovely 2007 Verdecchio di Matelica, DOC Marche, from Fattoria La Monacesca. Reminiscent of a good Alsatian Pinot Blanc.
 
La Monacesca is good stuff. Worth bringing out when people say that the best Verdicchio expressions are to be found in the Castelli di Jesi zone. The late harvest La Monacesca is quite ageable actually.

Bombino Bianco grown in Abruzzo is often (usually?) referred to as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo. Bombino Bianco grown in, say, Molise is often referred to as Bombino Bianco.

In neither case would that be the same grape variety as Trebbiano di Toscano, so far as I understand.
 
originally posted by Thor:
It is doubtful that anyone (anyone)
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Would you say you were 100% certain?
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The whole problem really lies with the fact that so many examples of "Trebbiano", whether they come from Italy, France, or France's annex Corsica, most likely never leave the area surrounding where the vines are grown. It is basically the definition of "bistro white" in many instances. Who can know what amazing local bistro white is never served outside of the local restaurant with a good connection?

Also, when I mentioned stylistic diverenges, I don't just mean Valentini and non-Valentini, I also mean like, you might have to be considering Floc de Gascogne. The possibilities boggle the mind. At least this one.
 
that noone seems to care much about the original subject of this thread, the Timorasso from Massa, which, in the brief, but impressive experience i've had with it, is one of the more remarkable white wines made on this planet. I'm not sure I've had a more compelling white wine in my 37 year career in the business, yet there doesn't seem to be much interest in this little corner of the wine universe , thus far. Thoughts?
 
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