Made from a rare Piedmontese white grape called Timorasso, this is a great introduction to the grape. Paradoxically both weight and delicate, the immediate peach and cream notes are balanced by thirst-quenching, refreshing, saline acidity. Bitter lemon on the finish with grip and drive, this has pear skin, almond and wheatgrass complexity. Excellent.

Long regarded as the godfather and saviour of Timorasso; the once almost-extinct white grape of Piemonte, Walter Massa is essentially responsible for this rare beauty's existence Vigneti Massa is the name of the family winery, with pioneer Walter the current custodian....and without whom, the estate may have slipped into mediocrity. Such has been his influence in the region, that not only has he saved his family estate, but he has re-invigorated a local white variety (Timorasso) and lent credence to the seriousness of another (Barbera). Founded by Walter's ancestors in 1879, the estate is a 23-hectare property on Monleale hills, about 300 meters above sea level in Piedmont. The enemy of all forms of bureaucracy and always against them, Walter is convinced that wine is made in the vineyard and in the cellar, and not with brands and documents; he's an iconoclast and a renegade, but he just happens to make great wines! Now with 5 different Timorasso wines in the range, he's expressing not only the local terroir, but the character of this local white grape that was on the verge of extinction. Bravo Walter!