Another Fine Italian White Wine - Gavi

California wine négociant Cameron Hughes owns no vineyards and has no official winery.  He sniffs out good wine which has already been produced by established makers, then buys it on the down low with an agreement not to reveal the source.  He then sells the wine online through his wine club - he calls it a wineocracy - bringing top-shelf wines to lower-shelf wallets.  Hughes says he keeps prices low by removing the middleman, the distributor and retailer through which store-bought wines must pass.

Lot 752 is a Gavi wine from northern Italy's Piemonte region.  The area centers around the commune of Gavi, in the province of Alessandria, quite near the border with Liguria.  Hughes says "Chablis and Pinot Grigio drinkers will love" this wine, made from the Cortese grape, vinified to 12% abv and selling for $15.  He says the wine has been made the same way for nearly two and a half centuries.

This pale wine has an explosive nose which jumps up from the glass.  Aromas of minerals are here - lemon, orange peel, apricot, wet sidewalk, along with a floral aspect.  There is a pale, yellowish tint to it in the glass.  The palate shows citrus and salinity, with a mighty fine streak of acidity racing through it.  Pair it with shrimp, crab or any kind of seafood, really.  Delightful.

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