Colli Tortonesi · Winery · Curated profile

Cascina Montagnola

Cascina Montagnola

Cascina Montagnola is a small estate in Viguzzolo, in the Colli Tortonesi hills of eastern Piemonte, run since 1997 by Donatella Giannotti and a close group of collaborators who came to winemaking from other careers. The vineyards sit in a single block behind Villa Margherita, the early-1900s farmhouse that is also the family's home, on clay and marl soils facing south to south-west at about 150 to 160 metres. Planting went in gradually: a one-hectare Barbera plot from the 1950s that still feeds the estate's Rodeo, Cortese, Croatina and Chardonnay from 1990, the first Timorasso in 2003, and Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot from 2008. Timorasso, bottled here as Derthona and Morasso, is the estate's calling card. Colli Tortonesi lies in the far eastern corner of Alessandria province, and Derthona, the old Roman name for nearby Tortona, has become shorthand for the appellation's Timorasso.

At a glance

Region
Colli Tortonesi, Piemonte, Italy
Address
Strada Montagnola Inferiore, 1, 15058 Viguzzolo (AL)
Winemaker
Giovanni Bailo
Tours
Not listed
Tastings
Available
Wines listed
9
Website
https://www.cascinamontagnola.com/

Visits & tastings

Visits start with a short vineyard walk, weather allowing, then a tasting in the estate's veranda. Everything is by reservation only.

Tastings

  • Verticale Derthona Timorasso Storica · 7 Timorasso vintages, 2006 to 2012, with local artisan products · 10:45 to 16:30
  • Verticale Derthona Timorasso Contemporanea · 7 Timorasso vintages, 2013 to 2019, with local artisan products
  • Verticale Rodeo · every Rodeo Barbera vintage back to 1997 · 10:45 to 16:30 · €80 per person
  • Basic Tasting · 4 current release wines with local food pairings · from €30 per person
  • Degustazione Rurale · wines with traditional rustic dishes · Saturdays, 12:30 to 16:30 · from €50 per person

Good to know

  • Either Derthona verticale earns a 10% voucher toward the other
  • Dietary needs accommodated where possible; dogs must be announced ahead
  • Wines can be bought directly at the cellar

Contact

Wines from Cascina Montagnola

  • Alcesti: Sauvignon Blanc 100%, White. A pure Sauvignon Blanc from the estate's own vineyards, fermented cool and matured briefly on the lees before a short spell in bottle.
  • Amaranto: Colli Tortonesi Rosso, Barbera 70%, Croatina 30%, Red. A Colli Tortonesi Rosso blending Barbera and Croatina from estate vineyards about 40 years old, aged 18 months in steel and a year in bottle.
  • Derthona: Colli Tortonesi Timorasso, Timorasso 100%, White. Cascina Montagnola's other Timorasso, Colli Tortonesi Timorasso, from the estate's youngest plantings near its historic vineyard.
  • Margherita: Vino Rosso, Red. A blend of non-native grape varieties long grown in the estate's vineyards, traditionally vinified alongside indigenous varieties such as Barbera, aged over two years between oak and bottle.
  • Morassino: Timorasso 100%, White. A richer, more concentrated selection of the estate's Timorasso, from a small parcel picked later and with reduced yields, aged nearly two years on the lees before bottling.
  • Morasso: Colli Tortonesi Timorasso, Timorasso 100%, White. Cascina Montagnola's pure Timorasso, Colli Tortonesi Timorasso, from a single estate vineyard, aged about a year in steel on the fine lees before further bottle age.
  • Risveglio: Vino Bianco, Chardonnay 100%, White. Cascina Montagnola's pure Chardonnay, fermented and aged in seasoned French oak from an estate vineyard about thirty years old.
  • Rodeo: Colli Tortonesi Barbera, Barbera 100%, Red. Cascina Montagnola's Colli Tortonesi Barbera, made in purity from a single vineyard planted in the 1950s and aged 15 months in barrique before further bottle age.
  • Sornione: Vino Bianco, Sauvignon 100%, White. A late-harvest Sauvignon vinified as a still white table wine, fermented and aged partly in new French oak and bottled in 0.5 litre format.