Colli Tortonesi Wine

Colli Tortonesi is a DOC of Piedmont, in north-western Italy, which covers red and white wines made in the hills around Tortona. One of the earlier Piedmont DOCs, the title was created in 1973, less than a year before its prestigious neighbor Gavi (now a DOCG).

The Colli Tortonesi viticultural zone covers 30 communes in the far east of Piedmont, all within the province of Alessandria. It extends from the Monferrato hills in the west to the regional border with Lombardy in the east, beyond which lies the Oltrepo Pavese. Tortona, the town cited in the DOC title, sits in the far north-western corner of the zone at the foot of the hills which bear its name. This is truly transitional topography, representing not only the gateway between the Po plains and the Mediterranean Sea but also the very northernmost reaches of the Apennines. This type of landscape naturally leads to considerable variability in mesoclimate, altitude, aspect and soil chemistry – the key components of terroir – which in turn affords local grape growers the luxury of choice when selecting vineyard sites.

The leading red grape of the area, Barbera, does well here, particularly when grown on south-facing slopes at altitudes of 490–1150ft (150–350m). The wines made from this classic Italian variety are typically fresh and fruity, with good acidity and structure. The dominant white variety is Cortese, a lively, sometimes citrus-scented grape whose high natural acidity allows it to remain refreshing and balanced even at high ripeness levels. Although Cortese can make good wines in the Colli Tortonesi, its finest and most famous incarnation is in Gavi, just to the south-west.

The Colli Tortonesi title also covers several varietals made from a legally required minimum 85% of the stated variety. These include reds made from Barbera (also as a superiore), Dolcetto (also as a youthful-styled novello) and Croatina, and whites based on Timorasso, Moscato Bianco and Favorita. The DOC's most significant varietal is probably the white Cortese, which comes in still, semi-sparkling frizzante and foaming spumante variants.

Wines labeled as Colli Tortonesi Monleale are made from Barbera grapes (at least 85%) grown in the Monleale sub-zone and are required to undergo oak ageing prior to release.