Giacosa Fratelli Gavi DOCG 2023

The exuberant and racy 2023 Giacosa Fratelli Gavi DOCG is not a typical Gavi: it’s that and more. For starters, the wine opens with the Cortese variety’s bright sun-splashed color and a delightfully pungent aroma redolent of lemongrass and orchard fruits infused with a touch of exotica. In the mouth, Giacosa Fratelli’s 2023 Gavi DOCG offers a delightful mélange of crushed forsythia and subdued fruit flavors imbued with lemon oil and Gavi’s calling card, a core of gentle minerality. This elegant and crowd-pleasing wine cuts a fine figure from start to finish. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest serving this charming Gavi moderately chilled (about 40º-45º F) before allowing it a few minutes to reach for a more ambient temperature and reveal its many charms. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2027. Enjoy!

The crowd-pleasing 2023 Giacosa Fratelli Gavi DOCG provides the quintessential aperitif, which may necessitate multiple glasses and bottles as it would be a shame to drink this elegant Gavi all by oneself… though maybe not. Just be sure that it’s not the butter and oak crowd in search of splintery Chardonnay that you are looking to please. Add fresh seafood to those glasses of Giacosa Fratelli’s Gavi and you have a recipe for a sublime dining experience. Pan Seared Red Snapper, Stuffed Flounder Florentine, and Pan Roasted Sea Bass with sautéed vegetables all provide delicious accompaniments. Sautéed Bay Scallops prepared in a cream sauce with unsalted pistachio nuts and Mediterranean herbs is a classic Northern Italian accompaniment and a perennial favorite with our tasting panels. Pasta Primavera and a carefully prepared Chicken Francese make fine companions too. In addition, most cream based sauces and soft cow’s milk cheeses pair nicely with this Gavi; the Cortese grape possesses a natural proclivity for accompanying dairy as well as seafood. Buon Appetito!

Located in the heart of the Langhe, the Giacosa Fratelli story begins with the fortunes of four brothers: Leone, Giovanni Battista, Costantino, and Giuseppe who relocated to Nieve in the late 19th century to work as sharecroppers. Good fortune did not herald their arrival. Shortly thereafter, Leone died in a hunting accident. Giovanni Battista went on to study theology and become a parish priest, and Costantino enrolled in the national gendarmerie (Carabinieri). This left Giuseppe to work the land and dream of one day owning his own wine cellar, something a sharecropper could never afford.

As fortune had it, in 1895 a wine cellar came up for sale in Borgonuovo di Nieve in the heart of the Langhe, home to one of Italy’s most prized wines and a personal favorite, but at an unthinkable cost. That same night Giuseppe had a dream, and the next day he played the National Lottery with the numbers he saw in his dream. No kidding! Good fortune smiled on Giuseppe and he bought the wine cellar with his winnings. So initiated the now five-generations-long story of Giacosa Fratelli, which began with four brothers seeking a better life followed by Giuseppe’s good fortune.

The Giacosa Fratelli story and fortune have continued and expanded with each successive generation. Today, Giacosa Fratelli is under the direction of Giuseppe’s great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren who tend nearly 125 acres of vineyards throughout the Langhe and fashion an exciting portfolio of red and white Piemontese wines, including the delicious 2023 Giacosa Fratelli Gavi DOCG (this month’s feature). Giacosa Fratelli now has vineyards throughout Italy’s Piedmont and they fashion in the family winery a full array of the region’s best red and white wines: Barbaresco, Barolo, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Gavi, Arneis, and more. The wines are produced with a deep respect for the land using technology and innovation in conjunction with Piedmont’s traditional practices. We invite you to indulge yourself and revel in Giacosa Fratelli’s good fortune!