Timorasso

Timorasso is a rare, structured white grape of the Colli Tortonesi in south-eastern Piedmont, once nearly extinct and now the standard-bearer of a small but celebrated revival. Its wines are full-bodied and mineral, driven by bright citrus and orchard fruit that deepen, with a year or two in bottle, into honey, dried apricot, wax and a distinctive petrol-like note reminiscent of a fine Riesling. Firm acidity and a saline, stony backbone give it the rare thing among Italian whites: real ageing potential, with the best bottles unfolding over a decade or more. Often sold under the local name Derthona, after the Roman town of Tortona, it has become one of Italy's most sought-after white wines — proof that a grape almost lost can return as a benchmark.