The province of Alessandria,
located in southeastern Piedmont, is home to the region of Gavi. Gavi is a
small appellation of eleven hundred hectare. It was elevated to DOC status in 1974
and DOCG in 1998. Eleven municipalities make up the zone. Gavi, Novi Ligure,
Bosio, Carrosio, Capriata d’Orba, Francavilla Bisio, Parodi Ligure, Pasturana,
San Cristoforo, Serravalle Scrivia and Tassarolo. Although
Gavi is Piedmont’s most famous white wine it is not entirely Piedmontese. The
climate in Piedmont is continental with a Mediterranean influence. Continental
climates experience distinct seasonal changes and wide diurnal shifts. The
climate in Gavi is Mediterranean. Temperatures are
regulated due its proximity to the ocean.
In northwest Italy only
Liguria communes with the sea. Liguria is the largest seaport in Italy and it is
twenty-five miles (forty kilometer) south of Gavi. The capital of Liguria is
Genoa. Genoa is Italy’s sixth largest city and one of Europe’s largest on the
Mediterranean. Genoa’s history begins with its founding in the 4th
C. Its name derives from the Latin ianua
meaning door; doorway to the Mediterranean. In the Middle Ages Genoa grew into
a naval power. Since antiquity it has been one of the world’s most important ports.
This is the northern stretch of the western Mediterranean, the Italian
Riviera. Northwest Italy is bordered by eastern France. Provence is one hundred
and twenty miles from here.
Gavi is named for the town
which is the epicenter of the region. Its development
as a viticultural district is attributed to the aristocratic, merchant,
families of Genoa who built their summer homes there. These family dynasties
were the first to isolate the white Cortese grape and began cultivation on
farms in the 19th C. In 1876 the Marquis Cambiaso, owner of the La
Centuriona and Toledana estates, created the first large-scale plantation of
Cortese. His example was followed by the aristocratic families Raggio, Serra,
Sartorio and Spinola.
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| Vineyard at the San Lorenzo Winery, Gavi DOCG. Photo Courtesy of Giuliana Imports |
Tenuta San Lorenzo was established in the late 19th C by the Marquis Raggio d’Azeglio along with the families Cambiaso, Serra, Spinola and Sartorio. The Cazzulo family have been the owners since 1967. The vineyards and winery are located in the northern sector of the appellation, the village of Novi Ligure. The estate is 18 hectare (45 acres), 16 hectare (39 acres) of which are Gavi DOCG. The winery presses only estate grown grapes and the wines are estate bottled. The vineyards are farmed organic. The average age of the estate vines range from 20 to 45 years. The grapes are pressed and fermented at cold temperatures in stainless steel tanks. The finished wine is aged sur lie for three months prior to bottling. No oak is used in the cellar and batonnage is limited.
2012 Tenuta San Lorenzo, Gavi DOCG. Flower essence, key lime and lime rind, yellow
apple, papaya and green mango. The fruit is not fully developed, only the skins
remain. More mineral than extract; salt, slate, and iron. The texture is creamy
from a moderate batonnage. Citrus flower, lime flower, meringue. A hazy silver
in the glass. Halb-trocken Riesling. Spring water, a mineral spring.
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| Image courtesy of Giuliana Imports |
Cortese
Documentation of Cortese in
Piedmont dates to the 17th C, 1659. Although the grapes existence in
the area may date as far back as the 13th C. Before the phylloxera
epidemic swept through Europe in the late 19th C, Gavi was mainly
dedicated to red wine production. However necessity is
the mother of invention and it was the need of a white wine to wash down the
seafood based diet of Genoa that lead to the creation of the modern Gavi viticultural district. Today Gavi is an exclusively white wine zone. The
DOCG wines are one hundred percent Cortese.
Cortese is naturally high
in acid with moderate extract. It’s a vigorous yielder and must be monitored in
the vineyard. The modest wines of the appellation seek uniformity. Although
there has been experimentation with barrel fermentation and aging this is not
widespread. Cortese is too delicate for a disciplined wood regimen. Cortese
ages well, gaining complexity in the bottle, but its nature lends itself
largely to near term consumption.
The soils in Gavi are calcareous
which means essentially chalk and limestone, in some areas clay dominates.
Grapes grown on calcareous soils engender nerve amplifying the grapes natural acidity.
Clay inspires power, mass, body and weight. Wines raised on clay based soils are
rounder, suppler, and more generous. The vineyards in Gavi are hillside
vineyards. DOCG regulations do not allow for planting on the valley floor.
