Massone Gavi Massera 2022

Twenty years ago, when Italian winemakers were just starting to make great white wine, it was the Gavi region that was leading the way. The district lies just north of the Mediterranean city of Genoa, over sub-Alpine rolling hills of ancient ocean floor pushed up by plate tectonics. The combination of limestone soils, sunny days and cool sea breezes creates the perfect environment for growing Cortese, which is the only grape permitted in this region. In fact, this variety does so well here that no other grapes have been allowed for centuries.

For Stefano Massone the pursuit of great Gavi started in the early 1980’s when temperature controlled, stainless steel fermentors were first brought to Italy. Prior to their introduction all the wines were fermented in large, upright, wood tanks that were almost glass-like on their interior due to tartrates. Although used for centuries, these fermentors were not very dependable, particularly if the period after harvest was warm. Then the fermentations would get too hot and the acidity and aroma of the wine would boil off, leaving a very flat, dull product. The new fermentors were not only much more hygienic but also allowed the winemaker to set the temperature of fermentation. Long, slow, cool fermentations preserve more natural acidity and trap the high alcohols and esters that create aroma. The result is wines with greater character and pair better with food.

Vigneto Masera is one of two vineyards that Massone farms and he bottles them separately. This site was planted in 1978 and has an almost perfect southern exposure, which maximizes sun on the vines. The old Cortese vines are dry farmed and are tended completely by hand. At harvest the wines are picked early in the day to preserve acidity, then pressed straight to tank. The juice is allowed to settle overnight then moved to the fermentation tank where it undergoes its transformation into wine in nine to ten days. Stefano makes about 2000 cases from Vigneto Masera.

I caution you not to serve this wine too cold. Let the bottle rest for fifteen minutes after you take it out of the refrigerator to let it rise to 55 degrees. That way when you pour a glass the nose of fresh red apples, white grapefruit and fresh apricots will explode from the glass. Where this wine is truly distinctive is in the texture, which is concentrated but not heavy, with the complex fruit framed by a thin shell of minerality that carries into a long, polished finish. You will want to drink this wine over the next year with almost any seafood dish.