Pio Cesare has been a Piedmont name since 1881, a family house in Alba that built its reputation on Barolo and Barbaresco. Gavi sits at the other end of the region, a white from the hills of the south-east, and it is the only white they bottle from Cortese.
- Cortese, the grape of Gavi and almost nowhere else.
- Gavi, Piedmont, in the hills south-east of Alba.
- 2018, a vintage that gave fresh, focused whites.
- Light body, high acidity, dry, low tannin.
- 12.5% alcohol, 750ml.
How it is made
Gavi is a white appellation in the south of Piedmont, made only from Cortese. The grape holds its acid well, which is why the wines keep their edge even in warm years. Pio Cesare sources from the hills around the town of Gavi, where the soils are a mix of clay and limestone.
How it tastes
Green apple and citrus first, then a flinty, mineral spine that runs through to the finish. The acidity is high and the body light, so it reads taut rather than soft. There is a spicy note underneath the fruit, and a complexity that builds as the wine opens in the glass.
Good to know
Gavi was the first Italian white wine to be awarded its own DOC, in 1974, and it was promoted to DOCG in 1998. The name comes from the town of Gavi in the province of Alessandria, and the zone is small, roughly a dozen communes. Cortese is grown almost nowhere else in the world at this quality.
Contains sulphites.
