Gavi DOCC is an elegant white wine from Piedmonte; Santo Stefano Belbo is a village in the Langhe hills between Torino and Cuneo in north east Italy. No surprise there was a selection of bottles of Gavi DOCC from different producers on the wine shelves in the border town of Oulx, Piedmonte, which we visited from Briançon (France) last year.
The 2023 wine poured with a light colour back in Brighton. A bright and airy nose that says “Fresh”. On a first sip: a dominant taste of lemon with faint notes of melon. Perhaps very slightly tart but pleasing, intense, rounded and not bitter. And a long after-taste which veered more to melon than lemon.
Gavi wine is traditionally served with fish dishes, Terry had cooked L’orata all’acqua pazza (Sea Bream), for which the Gavi was a fine complement, the wine is robust enough to partner with fresh dill and fresh fennel, also lemon, of the traditional recipe.