Tenuta San Lorenzo, Gavi DOCG

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 4^th 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 19^th 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.

Vineyard at the San Lorenzo Winery, Gavi DOCG. Photo Courtesy of Giuliana Imports

Tenuta San Lorenzo was established in the late 19^th 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.

Image courtesy of Giuliana Imports

Cortese

Documentation of Cortese in Piedmont dates to the 17^th C, 1659. Although the grapes existence in the area may date as far back as the 13^th C. Before the phylloxera epidemic swept through Europe in the late 19^th 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.