The fight for greatest Italian red varietals was settled long ago: Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, with Super Tuscan blends a distant second. (Honorable mentions to Aglianico, Montepulciano, Primitivo, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nero d’Avola, Corvina, etc, etc.) But the battle for top Italian whites seems to continue without a clear victor. From what I’ve read, Timorasso, while still quite obscure, has its proponents. I was curious, so picked up La Spinetta Timorasso. Here are my Tastings Notes from CellarTracker:
"My first taste of the Timorasso grape…and I’m not sure what to make of it honestly. No doubt Spinetta knows what they’re doing so I’ll trust that this is an accurate representation. The other CellarTracker tasting notes that mention bright acidity, pomelo, tropical fruits (citrus for me, no pineapple or mango), creaminess, brioche are accurate.
But I would have called Sauvignon Blanc if blinded, probably from New Zealand. I’m the first to admit that I’m not a great blind taster, but there is a Sauvignon Blanc quality that dominates the experience. Now I like a good Sauvignon Blanc as much as the next person, but there is something about this wine the combines the hard acidity, citrus pith bitterness, and unripe pyrazines of Sauv Blanc, without the warmth, minerality, and integration that characterize the best examples.
I usually don’t post numerical scores, and I definitely won’t for this wine given that I have no context within which to place Timorasso, but while interesting, this wine fits into the very large bin of “Good not Great”. Perhaps a bit more age would benefit it? Personally, I’d go for a quality Sancerre over this, which can be had for the $34 that I paid."
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