2019 Derthona Borgogno Review And Tasting Notes
When it comes to full-bodied and delicate white wines, Derthona Borgogno comes into play with arrogance: it has always been an ambitious wine, dense bordering on syrupy, alcoholic, structured, and full of flavors, aromas and butter.
It is not a sharp white wine, all salt, lemon, and rocks; on the contrary, it is a battleship, an interpretation (perhaps a bit forced of Timorasso) that starts from the elegance of this great grape variety in southern Piedmont.
If you are used to Walter Massa’s wines, this bottle represents the other side of the moon.
It loses in ease and naturalness of sip but acquires great depth, buttery roundness, and a new aromatic horizon.
The vintage we opened was 2019. It was certainly too young; the extract, mass, and alcohol are still too intrusive and cover the most delicate aromas of flowers and rocks; however, it is an indisputably fascinating wine.
It is commonly described as a wine with flab and a crazy concentration. It just has to wait and develop all this potential in elegance.
The pulp and structure are there and can withstand this shock treatment.
The wine has “worked well” and will be spectacular in 8–10 years. The fact that it now has no balance and is unable to express itself at its best is only the youthful defect of a very ambitious wine that looks to the future and not to the present.
How is it produced?
The vineyards are in Monleale and have their roots in soils rich in limestone. South-west and southeast exposure at an altitude of 250 meters.
After the harvest at the end of September, the grapes macerate in steel for 3 days. And it is this maceration that significantly enriches the must and fills it with pulp.
Another fundamental phase is fermentation, which is spontaneous and lasts for 25 days. Finally, the wine is aged in steel for 10 months and 7 in the bottle.
Organoleptic characteristics
The bouquet is like a small Pandora’s box, from which rich smells of mango and baked melon, cedar and sage drenched in vanilla, honey, and hazelnuts pour out.
The mineral and hydrocarbon aromas are powerful and mottled, give finesse and depth, and mix with hints of cereal and bread. The yeasts stressed by long and cold fermentation have developed a subtle and tasty herbaceous charge.
Butter that intertwines with aromatic herbs and sweet spices.
One could go on shooting for days. This wine is the joy of budding sommelier fetishists, even though it has fantastic charm.
It has all the charm of Riesling but is enhanced, ready to flex under the spotlight of the championship Mr. Olimpia. And despite all, the tone is intriguing, not subtle, but penetrating, and everything is played down by the rock, the chalk, and the aromatic herbs.
On the palate, it is warm, soft, and enveloping.
The structure is large, and the heat is palpable with its abundant 14 degrees, even if the pleasantness is dominant and not chubby.
The discourse of balance returns—a real hysterical obsession with the market in our days.
This is a boulder in this era of ready and drinkable wines, all juice, and compulsive drinking.
The rhythm is discrete, but these sensations are not yet well linked to salt and acidity, resulting in fragments.
It will be a superb wine in about ten years, like all purebred wines that focus on concentration.
Price
25-27: an acceptable price for an excellent white wine.