Fratelli Aresca Gavi DOCG 2023

A cheerful, sunny wine, the 2023 Fratelli Aresca Gavi brings the season’s good tidings and a reminder that all good things are best when shared, so be prepared to have two or more glasses on hand. Your guests will be delighted. From the wine’s pale yellow sun-splashed color to its long, snappy, thirst quenching finish, Fratelli Aresca’s 2023 Gavi delights the senses. Golden apple, acacia, spring flowers, and subtle mineral tones highlight the scent of this racy and balanced Gavi, providing ample testimony to the Cortese grape’s reputation for delicate, haunting aromatics. In the mouth, pure light fruit emerges from the wine’s center, infused with hints of crushed flowers, mineral, and lemon zest. Elegance and flavor abound in this Gavi. Vibrant from start to finish, the 2023 Fratelli Aresca Gavi flows like a mountain stream and is as thirst quenching as glacial water. Initially, we suggest that you serve Aresca’s charming 2023 Gavi well chilled (about 40º F) and then allow it to open slowly as it reaches towards an ambient temperature in the glass. This will allow this excellent Gavi to unfold and reveal all of its natural goodness and subtle nuances of flavor. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2026. Enjoy!

Considering the supreme elegance and purity of the 2023 Fratelli Aresca Gavi, several clean glasses may be the only prerequisite to enjoying this wine, as it would be a shame to drink this beautiful Gavi all by oneself… or maybe not. It makes a great aperitif, yet it is equally adept in the company of the freshest seafood. Pan Seared Red Snapper, Stuffed Flounder, and Sautéed Alaskan Halibut all provide delicious accompaniment as do sushi and nearly anything that emanates from rivers or the sea. Moules Marinière or any Belgian style mussel dish offers a treat. Sautéed Bay Scallops, prepared in a cream sauce with unsalted pistachio nuts and Mediterranean herbs provides another all-time favorite companion to Aresca’s 2023 Gavi. A simple but carefully prepared Chicken Francese is another perennial favorite. In addition, most cream-based sauces and soft cow’s milk cheeses pair nicely with Gavi, as the Cortese grape seems to possess a natural affinity for dairy as well as seafood. Buon Appetito!

“Lives dedicated to wine.” -Fratelli Aresca

Fratelli Aresca was founded in 1952 by brothers Piero and Luigi Aresca, two Piemontese winegrowers, who turned a passion for the vines on the slopes of the village of Mombercelli into a thriving family business. Located in a recognized World Heritage Site in the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato hills of Italy’s Piedmont, they cultivated the land with care and respect so that their passion would yield wines of exceptional quality and purity. Grassing and cover crops between the rows of vines retain biodiversity, while hand-harvesting and minimal intervention in the vineyard and cellar respect both the land and Piedmont’s great winemaking tradition. They constructed a winery and fulfilled their dreams, which they passed on to the second and third generations who now work the vineyards and run the winery.

At Fratelli Aresca all winemaking is overseen by winemakers, though wine is much more than an oenologist’s signature or a winemaker’s philosophy; wine is the Aresca family’s passion for the land, the pursuit of excellence, and a respect for Piedmont’s unique autochthonous grape varieties. Aresca grows Piedmont’s full gamut of indigenous grape varieties and fashions an enviable portfolio of the region’s red and white wines, including Barbera d’Asti, Grignolino d’Asti, Nebbiolo d’Alba, and Barolo among the reds and a splendid Gavi (this month’s feature), Roero Arneis, and Cortese del Monferrato from the region’s white grape varieties.

Gavi has been likened to white Burgundy, but the comparison does neither wine justice. At their best, Gavi and white Burgundy possess clean ripe fruit, a distinctive minerality, and ideal balance, but Gavi will always remain a more delicate wine than white Burgundy. The Cortese varietal, from which authentic Gavi is born, coupled with the soil, climate, and ultimate terroir of the Gavi zone render a decidedly different wine from white Burgundy. Gavi will almost always be the lighter, drier, more ethereal wine, but none the less for the difference. True Gavi provides perfect balance, delicious fruit, and vibrant acidity, which makes it ideal as an aperitif and the companion to seafood.