Roagna’s Derthona Montemarzino represents the Castiglione Falletto estate’s entry into one of the most discussed and rapidly evolving categories in contemporary Italian wine: Timorasso, the indigenous white grape variety of the Colli Tortonesi hills in the eastern Piedmont, now increasingly produced under the Derthona IGT or DOC designation. The variety was rescued from near-extinction in the 1980s and 1990s primarily through the work of Walter Massa, and has since become a reference point for Italian wine enthusiasts seeking serious, age-worthy whites from the region. Roagna’s decision to produce a Timorasso from the Montemarzino commune in the Colli Tortonesi reflects the estate’s broad curiosity about Piedmontese viticulture beyond the Langhe, applied with the same philosophical rigour that governs the Barolo and Barbaresco programme.

Montemarzino is a village in the Colli Tortonesi situated at altitude on clay and limestone soils that produce Timorasso of particularly good acidity and mineral depth. The variety itself is among the most unusual and compelling in the Italian white wine canon: naturally high in acidity and phenolics, capable of great aromatic complexity with age, and producing wines that develop in the bottle for a decade or more when produced with care. Roagna’s approach to the variety, which one would expect to involve extended ageing in large oak vessels and minimal intervention in the cellar, should produce a Derthona of considerable structure and ageing potential compared to the lighter, more immediately accessible styles from younger or smaller producers.

Timorasso from Roagna is a wine that will attract the attention of collectors who follow both the Piedmontese natural wine movement and the broader Italian white wine renaissance with serious attention. The combination of one of Piedmont’s most philosophically serious producers and one of the region’s most age-worthy indigenous white varieties is genuinely compelling, even if the wine has not yet attracted the mainstream critical attention of the approved publications. For collectors seeking Italian whites of real cellaring ambition from producers with outstanding pedigree in other categories, this is a wine deserving of serious attention.

Pale gold with a complex and distinctive nose of white peach, quince, lemon oil, walnut, dried herbs and a mineral salinity from the Colli Tortonesi limestone soils. Full-bodied on the palate with excellent natural acidity, remarkable phenolic texture for a white wine and a very long, mineral, structured finish. Best from 2026 through 2038.

This piercing style's mineral, floral, honey, lemon cake and butter flavors prevail. Well integrated and packed with personality, with an aftertaste of citrus and butter. Drink now through 2030. 218 cases made. — Wine Spectator