Italy · Langhe

Cascina Gentile

Organic estate in Capriata d'Orba making Gavi Cortese, Ovada Dolcetto in two tiers, and a Colli Tortonesi Derthona Timorasso from a plot taken on in 2015. All wines estate-grown, unfined, unfiltered.

The producer

Cascina Gentile sits in Capriata d'Orba where three Piemonte appellations converge: Gavi DOCG to the south, Ovada DOCG at the estate boundary, and the Colli Tortonesi to the east. Most producers in the area commit to one zone. Daniele Oddone, who took over from his family in 2009 after training at the Alba School of Oenology, works all three from eleven hectares of certified organic vines on the Alessandria hills.

Oddone converted to organic farming immediately upon arriving, not over the usual multi-year transition. His three labels reflect different aspects of the location: Gavi Confine from Cortese, Ovada DOCG Dolcetto in two tiers including the old-vine Riserva Le Parole Servono Tanto, and a Derthona Timorasso from a Colli Tortonesi plot he began managing in autumn 2014. Across all wines the cellar approach is the same: matched maceration periods, ageing in steel and cement, no fining, no filtration.

Known for

Ovada DOCG Dolcetto; Colli Tortonesi Derthona Timorasso

Notable facts

The story

The Third Appellation

In autumn 2014, Daniele Oddone was offered the chance to manage a plot in the Colli Tortonesi, a zone in Alessandria province that had spent the previous decade building a reputation for Timorasso, a white grape that had nearly vanished from Piemonte before a small group of growers in the Tortona Hills revived it in the 1990s. Oddone took the plot. The 2015 harvest produced the estate's first Timorasso, released under the Colli Tortonesi Derthona DOC, the appellation created in 2010 specifically for varietal Timorasso from that zone. Cascina Gentile, a Dolcetto and Cortese estate from the Alessandria hills, now made a third wine in a third appellation, grown in a place it did not own, from a grape it had never farmed before.

From the atlas

Cascina Gentile

At A Glance

LocationCapriata d'Orba, Alessandria, southeastern Piemonte
AppellationsGavi DOCG, Ovada DOCG, Colli Tortonesi Derthona DOC
GrapesCortese, Dolcetto, Timorasso
FarmingCertified organic (Valoritalia)
Vineyards11 hectares under vine at 270 metres
CellarNo filtration, no fining across all wines

The Producer

Cascina Gentile farms three appellations from a single hilltop estate in Capriata d'Orba, where the southeastern corner of Piemonte opens toward Liguria and the landscape shifts from the Nebbiolo country of the Langhe to something lower, warmer, and less famous. The estate makes white wine from Cortese under Gavi DOCG, red wine from Dolcetto under Ovada DOCG, and a white from Timorasso under the Colli Tortonesi Derthona DOC. Three grapes, three appellations, one estate.

Daniele Oddone has run the property since 2009, when ownership passed from his family to him after he completed his studies at the Alba School of Oenology. He manages the vines and the cellar himself. The estate is certified organic through Valoritalia.

Place

Capriata d'Orba sits in Alessandria province at the point where three wine zones meet. Gavi DOCG, built around Cortese, lies to the south. Ovada DOCG, the heartland of serious Dolcetto, begins practically at the estate boundary. The Colli Tortonesi, home to Derthona Timorasso, lies to the east. Most producers in the area work one of these appellations. Cascina Gentile works all three, which is less a marketing decision than a geographic fact: the estate is positioned where those zones converge.

The vineyards sit at around 270 metres, on soils that vary by parcel. The Ovada Dolcetto parcel recorded for Tre Passi Avanti sits at 250 metres on silt, clay, and stone, south-facing, which gives the Dolcetto full sun through the growing season and produces grapes with enough colour and tannin to carry extended maceration.

Ovada DOCG is Dolcetto at its most serious. Dolcetto grown in the Alba or Asti zones tends toward soft, round, early-drinking red wine. Ovada DOCG, by contrast, allows for longer ageing and produces wines with firmer tannin and more grip. The DOCG designation exists specifically to recognise this distinction.

Soil And Site

The documented Ovada Dolcetto parcel is one hectare, south-facing, at 250 metres, on silt, clay, and stone soils. The elevation moderates heat and maintains overnight acidity. Clay retains water through dry spells and contributes to the tannin density that Ovada Dolcetto is known for. The mix of silt and stone in the profile allows drainage and prevents the vine from becoming too vigorous.

The Colli Tortonesi plot managed since 2015 is a separate property in a different zone. No soil breakdown for that parcel is available.

Story

Giovanni Gentile planted vineyards in the early 1960s at a Capriata d'Orba site known locally as Il Gazzolo. He built a cellar in the 1970s and sold wine in bulk. By 1982 the estate had begun bottling under its own name. In 1984 his son Giuseppe took over and upgraded the cellar, improved grape production, and joined integrated-production programmes designed to cut synthetic chemical use. That shift toward cleaner farming set the direction, but it was gradual.

When Daniele Oddone arrived in 2009, he moved faster. He converted the estate to certified organic farming immediately, not over the typical multi-year transition. His stated reason was direct: the family lives and works among the vines, and he would not farm with materials he considered unsafe for them. Copper, sulfur, and manure replaced synthetic inputs from that first season.

In autumn 2014, Oddone took on a plot in the Colli Tortonesi and made his first Timorasso in 2015. Timorasso is a white grape that had nearly disappeared from Piemonte by the 1980s before a handful of Tortona Hills growers revived it. The Derthona DOC, the appellation built around varietal Timorasso from the Colli Tortonesi, was formalised in 2010. By the time Oddone entered, Derthona had become one of the more watched appellations in Italian white wine. His entry via a managed plot, not purchased land, is how a small estate acquires range without acquiring debt.

Vineyards And Cellar

All eleven hectares are farmed organically. The inputs are copper and sulfur treatments and manure fertiliser. No synthetic herbicides, fungicides, or fertilisers are used. All wines are produced from estate-grown grapes.

In the cellar, the approach is consistent across labels: macerate for the time the variety requires, age in a combination of steel, cement, and bottle, and then bottle without fining or filtration. For Tre Passi Avanti Ovada Dolcetto, maceration runs seven to ten days, followed by six months in steel, six months in cement, and six months in bottle. For the Derthona Timorasso, maceration is 24 hours of skin contact, then 18 months in steel and 12 months in bottle. The cement vessel appears in the Dolcetto protocol but not in the Timorasso one.

The result across the range is wine that carries textural weight without added tannin from oak. The Dolcetto gets its density from maceration time and grape character. The Timorasso gets its texture from the skin contact and extended lees time in steel.

Wines

Three wines anchor the range.

Gavi Confine is the white wine made from Cortese, the sole grape permitted under Gavi DOCG. Cortese grown at this elevation produces lean, high-acid white wine with citrus and stone-fruit character. It is the estate's primary white label.

Ovada DOCG Tre Passi Avanti is the entry-level Dolcetto, from one south-facing hectare at 250 metres. The seven-to-ten-day maceration extracts significant colour and tannin from Dolcetto, giving the wine more grip than most Dolcetto from other Piemonte appellations. The 2019 showed plum, cherry, and raspberry alongside almond, vanilla, and firewood, with a slightly resinous aromatic note that is characteristic of ripe Dolcetto from this zone. The 2020 was reviewed by Decanter's Piedmont panel. Six months in steel followed by six months in cement and six months in bottle produces a wine that is firm and food-compatible rather than soft and early.

Ovada DOCG Le Parole Servono Tanto is the single-vineyard Riserva, from vines planted in 1984. Forty-year-old Dolcetto vines produce smaller yields and more concentrated grapes. This label sits above Tre Passi Avanti in the Ovada range. Detailed cellar protocol for the Riserva is not available beyond its vineyard origin.

Colli Tortonesi Derthona Timorasso is the estate's white wine from the Colli Tortonesi plot managed since 2015. Timorasso is a thick-skinned grape that produces full-bodied, age-worthy white wine with waxy texture, high acidity, and aromatic complexity. The Derthona DOC applies to varietal Timorasso from the Colli Tortonesi. After 24 hours of skin maceration, the wine spends 18 months in steel and 12 months in bottle before release. The extended lees ageing in steel builds texture and keeps the fruit clear.

In The Glass

The Ovada Dolcetto Tre Passi Avanti opens on dark fruit: plum and cherry, with raspberry behind it. Almond and a light vanilla note come from the grape rather than oak; Dolcetto carries a bitter-almond aromatic naturally, especially when maceration is extended. Firewood and a faint resinous note appear at the aromatic edge. In the mouth the wine is firm and dry, with tannin that is grippy rather than soft, and enough acidity to cut through food. The finish is dry and medium-long.

The Derthona Timorasso shows differently: waxy, fuller in texture.

The Gavi Confine, made from Cortese, is lean, high in acidity, and citrus-forward. It sits at the lighter, earlier end of the range.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Ovada DOCG Tre Passi Avanti. It is Dolcetto from Ovada, which is the most demanding appellation for the grape, and the cellar protocol at Cascina Gentile, seven-to-ten-day maceration with no fining and no filtration, gives the wine genuine tannic density rather than the easy, soft profile that standard Dolcetto often produces. The aromas are genuinely dark and slightly savoury: plum, almond, firewood. The tannins are firm, the finish is dry, and the wine wants food. It is not a light introduction to Italian red wine. It is an introduction to what Dolcetto can do when it is taken seriously in a zone built for it.

Anecdote

In autumn 2014, Daniele Oddone was offered the chance to manage a plot in the Colli Tortonesi, a zone in Alessandria province that had spent the previous decade building a reputation for Timorasso, a white grape that had nearly vanished from Piemonte before a small group of growers in the Tortona Hills revived it in the 1990s. Oddone took the plot. The 2015 harvest produced the estate's first Timorasso, released under the Colli Tortonesi Derthona DOC, the appellation created in 2010 specifically for varietal Timorasso from that zone. Cascina Gentile, a Dolcetto and Cortese estate from the Alessandria hills, now made a third wine in a third appellation, grown in a place it did not own, from a grape it had never farmed before.

Final Word

Cascina Gentile is a small estate working three appellations from one Alessandria hilltop. Daniele Oddone converted to certified organic farming the year he arrived, farmed that way since, and added Timorasso when a plot became available. The wines are unfined, unfiltered, and estate-grown. The Ovada Dolcetto is the heart of the range and the clearest argument for why Ovada DOCG exists as a separate designation.

Sources

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