Italiano
From madman to egotist, the genius of Walter Massa
Synonymous with Timorasso, Walter Massa brought back this forgotten varietal in the 1980s and since then has given new fame to this grape and the area it grows in.
Southeast Piedmont. Tortona. Monleale. Hills and vineyards as far as the eye can see. A wild jeep ride.
“We’re going there” he says pointing. “There, where?” I ask bewildered. There are no roads, only hills and vineyards. “Over there”. And then we drive through the rows of vines, up and down hills, between the Timorasso and the Barbera. This is how my brief yet intense exploration of Walter Massa’s vineyards began, accompanied by this poetic and innovative winemaker, with his bright, modern and irreverent eyes, someone who gambled on a forgotten grape and turned it into a great Piedmont wine. Walter Massa is now synonymous with Timorasso – he has been growing it since 1987 – which he brought back from the land of the lost, where it had been abandoned because it was more problematic than Cortese and less appealing than Barbera. Today, the value of this varietal and the wine it makes is beyond question and the merit for this is his.
“They thought we were good-for-nothings, no one paid attention to us. I gave a meaning to this territory because it has meaning. In the 1980s and ‘90s, I was considered a madman because I believed in a grape that, people said, “if it’s not around anymore there must be a reason”. Then, in the early 2000s, I was a fool because I convinced my colleagues in the area to believe in this varietal. And in the 2010s, I was an idiot because I helped Roagna, Vietti, Borgogno and Oddero to buy land in the area and now I’m an egotist who only thinks of himself because with the producers’ association we have placed limits on production,” he tells me as his skillfully weaves his jeep through the rows of vines.
Massa, in fact, gambled on this varietal when, in the 1970s, many local estates were seeing to boost their production of white wine using the Cortese grape, which is more generous and less demanding. He believed not only in a territory but also in a hill and in a varietal, modifying the productive direction of his estate and seeking to produce new wines that had great personality. This resulted in Massa’s first Timorasso, the product of comparing notes with colleagues and a firm conviction in being able to achieve his goal. In 1995, after having understood that the varietal expresses itself best after maturing long, his Costa del Vento came out on the market 18 months after being made. Much has happened since the 1990s and many have followed the path struck by Massa.
Today, his production is differentiated with many wines with distinctive characteristics, unique in representing a vineyard or a parcel and each with a precise personality even if they are made the same way. From the “stock” Derthona, of which some 60,000 bottles are made annually, to the cru Sterpi, Costa del Vento and Montecitorio.
But Walter Massa is not content to just produce Timorasso and in his production we also find an excellent Barbera, which is different from so many others and is again a precise expression of the territory of Monleale and has a significant alcohol content. “A good Barbera needs to have some alcohol in order to balance the acidity. If you deacidify a wine you can tell, you impair the pH and it lacks verticality. Deacidification must take place in the vineyard by allowing the grapes to ripen”.
And it is the vineyard that gives birth to Monleale and its cru wine, Bigolla, a bold and rich Barbera that truly expresses this corner of Piedmont with precision and attention to detail.
Derthona Montecitorio 2016
96/100 - € 45
Made from Timorasso grapes and matured in stainless steel. A golden-yellow color and aromas of yellow flowers, candied fruit, spice, mimosa, saffron, citron and ginger. The mouthfeel is fresh and fine, with great progression, a nice body, elegance and verticality. The finish is very persistent and has notes of flint, coriander, pepper and candied citrus.
Derthona Costa del Vento 2017
94/100 - € 40
Made from Timorasso grapes and matured in stainless steel. A bright, golden-yellow color and a rich and assorted bouquet with scents of fruit and notes of hydrocarbon, peach, citrus and pineapple syrup, butter and light balsamic hints. The full and pulpy mouthfeel is fat and wrapping, fresh and savory with a long finish.
Colli Tortonesi Barbera Bigolla 2005
93/100 - € 45
Made from Barbera grapes and matured for 22 months in new barriques. A ruby-garnet color and a rich and elegant aroma with clear toasted notes and those of fruit jam, leather, dates and spice. The warm mouthfeel is in perfect balance with the acidity.
