INSIDER'S PICK: 2021 LA SMILLA GAVI DI GAVI $22.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

It's the wine so nice, they named it twice! The New York, New York of Italian wine. And like most things on wine labels, the extra details do matter. Gavi is the name of the town and wine region in the southern end of the Piedmont, the most white grape centric in the region, and features the Cortese grape. Cortese is planted fairly liberally across much of Northern Italy, but Gavi is by far the most noteworthy. The commune around the city of Gavi itself has always carried a distinct reputation above their neighbors for outstanding quality, so much so that Gavi di Gavi was elevated from a DOC to DOCG status. While there can be very good producers from other parts of Gavi, the consistency and quality of wines from Gavi di Gavi are hard to beat. Lots of zesty white fruits, melon rind and cool honeysuckle fruit on the nose that gets warmer and a bit tropical as it opens up. The mouthfeel has a bit of weight to it but still feels crisp with acidity, really bringing out the zesty fruits on the palate finishing with a green-edged dry tone. This holds up very well to both lighter and relatively bold fish as well as lightly herbed pork or poultry, or can do well on its own for the more adventurous out there.

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