2011 Gavi di Gavi, La Monetta, Piemonte, Italy (£9.99, reduced to £7.99, until 9 October, Waitrose). Here’s a lovely white wine that works perfectly well at a tenner, but really is worth a detour at £7.99. Gavi di Gavi is a style of wine that can cost the earth – my favourite version, 2010 Montessora, La Giustiniana (£21.99, Caruthers & Kent tel. 0191 213 1818), is three times the price of my featured wine, so when a decent discount applies to well-made Gavi, I am on it. Made by Araldica, a smart co-op, and coming from their La Battistina estate this wine has pedigree. There are no winemaking tricks here, just a short, cool fermentation, six months on less and then it’s ready to go. This means that great Gavi is ‘made’ in the vineyard – either the fruit is special or it is not. This is certainly true of my aforementioned Montessora, but it is also very evident in this keenly priced wine. Araldica is a large outfit with very high standards and it shows. The lemon balm and lime leaf nose is beautiful. The palate is pear-imbued and sleek and the finish, rasping and refreshing. It is also only 12.5% vol. so very much an aperitif/lunchtime style. Give La Monetta a whirl – it will certainly raise an eyebrow or two.
