Giacomo Boveri Timorasso Derthona 'Lacrime del Bricco' Timorasso 2023

Recently (October 2026) awarded the prestigious ‘Tre Bicchieri’ rating by Gambero Rosso – Italy’s definitive wine guide. 

In September we hosted a dinner featuring the wines of Giacomo Boveri, looking at their three single vineyard bottlings from vintages 2018 and 2023. While it was hard to pick a winner, ultimately I decided that Lacrime del Bricco was my pick of the wines from both vintages. Discussion around the room touched on comparisons to more familiar grape varieties and regions. Most accurately, in my mind at least, is a comparison to the wines of Saumur and their crystalline dry Chenin Blancs. One character in particular, a lanolin/wet wool aroma and texture, certainly draws a connection between both styles. Beyond this, The Lacrime del Bricco has a beautiful flinty character with sea spray freshness and mouth-watering minerality. There’s a lot on offer in this wine and it acts as a fantastic flag-bearer for the wines of Derthona.

And a note on labelling to help explain what you’re looking at when looking at a wine such as this: Timorasso is the grape variety, Derthona is the ancient Roman name for the town of Tortona and is widely used on labels, in a similar way to Chianti in Tuscany or Soave in Veneto. Colli Tortonesi is the DOC and the physical boundary of the viticultural and winemaking region. 

Ches Cook, Five Way Cellars. 

The most powerful & potent Cru from Boveri. It’s a multiple Tre Bicchieri recipient from Gambero Ross previously.

Stainless steel elevage, 24 months on lees & then bottle aged before release.  Raised on calcareous soil with white marl – “Lacrime del Bricco” translates to “tears of the hill top” due to the miniscule yields from this superb cru.

Reviews

95 Points, Tip Top Tipple - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front) – “A richer iteration of this wine, into Chardonnay weight, but still carries a certain precision and tightness. I’m thinking chamomile, mint and honey perfume, hazelnuts, lime rind, peach and green apple, it’s also flinty, yet gently viscous, a  chalky feel to texture too, with honey drizzled nuts, some cut cucumber freshness, closing with salted almond, dried seaweed wafers, and excellent length. It’s flavoursome, yet it bursts out of the glass. Outstanding. There’s a lot to unpack here; a complex and delicious wine.”

96 Points, Lisa Cardelli (The Wine Pilot) – “There is a quiet power here, with everything tightly coiled on the nose – a glimmer of slate-like minerality, almonds, lemon pith, and red apple skin. It’s an incredibly complex wine with no rush to reveal itself all at once, carried by a saline tension gently softened by a touch of orange blossom. Structured yet deeply mouthwatering, it has the precision of a Riesling and the multidimensional depth of a fine Chardonnay. Drink one now, because you must – and age the rest.”