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Italian Wine News |
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Castellari Bergaglio's Gavi Wines Presented at Ottimista Enoteca-Café
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Marco Bergaglio (standing, left), of Castellari Bergaglio winery from Piedmont, introduces his line of three single vineyard and one aged white Gavi wines at Ottimista Enoteca-Café, at 1838 Union Street, in San Francisco. |
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Owner / winemaker Marco Bergaglio was in town for the Italian Flavor Forum IV and was happy to introduce his three single-vineyard Gavi wines, made from the native Italian Cortese grapes typical of the Gavi municipality area, as well the six-year old complex, ripe Gavi Pilin. Ottimista's customers who attended the presentation were truly amazed by the difference from wine to wine, though all made from the same fruit grown in vineyards just a few miles away from each other. Melissa Gisler, co-owner of Ottimista, reported that some of the usual customers were amazed by the superiority of flavor, minerals and complexity of these wines when compared to other Gavis that they had tasted on other occasions.
The presentation started with the Fornaci 2004 label, which is considered the 'basic wine' of the line. It takes its name from the location in the Tassarolo municipality were the vines are cultivated. They sit on the site of a former kiln (fornace), which explains the high clay composition and red color of the soil, lending characteristics to the grapes that are reflected in the wine. It is very pleasant drunk young, in the spring, but is at its best after a few months in the bottles. It can be kept in bottles for several years without suffering in quality.
The second wine was the Rolona 2004, made with Cortese grapes cultivated in the municipality of Gavi. The different soil composition of the fields, the age of the vines, the characteristics of the clones, the vine density and the microclimate distinguish the fruits accordingly and produce very different wines. The tasting comparison was truly an educational experience which showed clearly the extent to which the terroir, with its different soil composition and sun exposure, as well as the type of cultivation affects the quality and flavor of the wine.
Next, Bergaglio introduced the Gavi DOCG di Gavi 2004 'Rovereto-Vignavecchia' (vigna vecchia = old vineyard), a wine which is the product of a work of love, rather than the result of a commercial operation with a financial gain in mind.
In fact, the decision to keep a vineyard which is over eighty years old with an outstanding traditional and genetic heritage alive, was made despite the high production costs and extremely low yield. It was done for the pure satisfaction and pleasure of doin something special and unique.
Rovereto, hometown of Castellari Bergaglio's winery, takes its name from the surrounding oak ('rovere' in Italian) woods. The advanced age of the vineyards, which include pre-phylloxera vine colonies (early 20th century), added to the soil composition and the microclimate affected by the oak woods, give the Gavi DOCG di Gavi 'Rovereto-Vignavecchia' its very special organoleptic characteristics.
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The grapes used to make the Pilin are hand picked and selected from all the winery’s vineyards. With near obsessive care and attention, the family selects the best, healthiest and ripest bunches and places them in wooden trays where they are left to partially dry for 30 to 40 days. This method makes the wine suitable for ageing in barriques.
The Castellari Bergaglio winery has produced this wine since 1984, and Marco is proud to say that the quality of the product has spoken for itself since.
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