Morgassi Superiore Volo 2019 Gavi del Comune di Gavi DOCG, Piemonte, Italy 75cl

Azienda Agricola Morgassi Superiore was founded in 1993 and is farmed by the Piacitelli family across steep, south-facing hillsides in Piedmont’s Gavi zone. Farming around fifty hectares of hillside vineyard, the family focus is Cortese, the local white grape, grown on limestone-rich slopes that lend the wines their freshness and cut. Gavi has quietly become one of northern Italy’s benchmark whites, and estates like this one are a large part of why.

Volo comes from the tighter Gavi del Comune di Gavi DOCG, the heart of the appellation, where the wine is entitled to name the commune of Gavi itself. It is made purely from Cortese and given time on its fine lees, which builds a little more body, texture and mineral depth than a standard Gavi, without ever losing the grape’s cool, citrus-driven character.

The 2019 vintage in Piedmont gave whites with bright acidity and clean, ripe fruit, exactly the balance this style depends on. The result is a Gavi with both freshness and a genuine sense of place.

In the glass, expect citrus and crisp orchard fruit, a subtle almond and floral note and a flinty, mineral thread running through a dry, mouth-watering finish. It is unoaked and precise, built for the table rather than the cellar. Serve it well chilled with seafood, shellfish, risotto, light pasta or a spread of antipasti.

If you enjoy Italian whites such as Vermentino or a good Soave, this classic Gavi is a natural next step, elegant, versatile and true to its Piedmont home.