Michele Chiarlo makes this in the Gavi DOCG, a small zone in southern Piedmont where the hills sit closer to Liguria than to the Langhe. The grape is Cortese, a thin-skinned white that has grown there for centuries and does little of interest anywhere else.
- Cortese, the only grape allowed in Gavi DOCG.
- Piedmont, northern Italy, hills toward the Ligurian border.
- 2018, a warm vintage across the region.
- Dry, light-bodied, 12.5% alcohol.
- High acidity, low tannin.
How it is made
Gavi is a white appellation in a region famous for reds, which is part of what makes it worth knowing. The DOCG rules tie the wine to Cortese and to a defined set of hills around the town of Gavi. Fermentation is cool and stainless, the usual approach for the style, so the fruit stays forward and the acidity stays sharp.
How it tastes
White peach and lemon zest up front, then green almond and wet stone. The finish is saline, which is the marker people look for in Gavi and the reason it drinks drier than its fruit suggests. High acidity keeps it taut; the body stays light throughout.
Good to know
Cortese was nearly abandoned in the twentieth century, grown mostly as a blending grape and pulled out of vineyards in favour of more commercial varieties. Gavi's rise from a local table wine to a DOCG in 1998 is what kept it planted. The name Gavi itself comes from the town, not the grape.
Contains alcohol.
