Oltretorrente, Bianco Colli Tortonesi 2023

Producer: Oltretorrente
Region: Colli Tortonesi, Piedmont, Italy
Varietals: Cortese, Favorita, and Timorasso
Viticulture: Organic, Biodynamic
Category: White Wine
Size: 750ml bottle

Chiara Penati and Michele Conoscente grow grapes and make wine in the tiny village of Paderna in the Colli Tortonesi of southern Piedmont. Their small parcels are scattered around the village; some of the vines are 100 years old. The steep slopes prohibit anything but work by hand in the vineyards. Sourced from all of the estate's parcels, as each plot has at least some white grapes in it. Vineyards were planted between 1959 and 1999 at 6,000 plants/ha.  This white consists of a blend of piedmontese varieties cortese and favorita, as well as some timorasso. The grapes were whole-cluster pressed (no maceration) and spontaneously fermented in concrete and stainless steel vats with temperature control. Malolactic fermentation did take place. Aging was also in concrete and stainless, for six months on the lees. With salted grilled peach up front, it sits beautifully on the palate, with a lean, long, mineral finish of green apple.