Bava Cor de Chasse Gavi di Gavi 2020
Product Details
Winemaker Notes
The history of the Bava Family starts in Cocconato, a village that rises steeply up the hillsides of the Monferrato Astigiano.
The Bava Family has grown grape vines in this territory since 1600 and in 1911 in the very same area the family built their first wine cellar.
Since then, over a hundred vintages have gone by, with four generations following one another. The best Bava Barberas are renowned in the world thanks to their high quality.
Today, the family estate extends in Monferrato and Langa, with fifty hectares of vineyards and twenty hectares of natural fields and woods, cultivated with the same awareness, care and attention of the olden times resulting in a sustainable agriculture with a reduced environmental impact.
Walking along the Bava vineyards, you will notice the grass clippings and the prunings used as natual fertilizers, the poles, all strictly made of wood coming from renewable forests or grassing between vine rows, which not only helps prevent soil erosion, but also serves as proof that no hebicides are used.
First recorded in the early 17th century in the province of Alessandria in SE Piedmont, Cortese today is most highly regarded from Gavi where soils are limestone-rich. It also grows well in the surrounding zones, namely Monferrato and Colli Tortonesi. Somm Secret—Because of its freshness and chalky minerality, this white wine commonly populates the fish restaurants’ wine lists of the Ligurian coast so practically owes more allegiance to this neighboring region than its home.
Among Piedmont’s most historical and respected white wine producing zones, Gavi—also known as Gavi di Gavi and Cortese di Gavi—comes from Piedmont's southeast, in the province of Alessandria. Gavi is the main town of the area; Cortese is the grape. Cortese for Gavi is grown in any of 11 communes in the area where the soils are abundant in chalky, white, limestone-rich clay. The best Gavi from these locations are delicately floral, with stone fruit and citrus characters and a crisp, mineral-laden finish.
While typically made in a fresh and unoaked style, by law Gavi can come in many forms: frizzante, spumante, metodo classico and méthode ancestrale. But most producers maintain a conventional winemaking practice of temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel and make fresh, still whites. However, there are several barrique-aged examples, which can be interesting. The biodynamic wines of Gavi, fermented with ambient yeasts can be the most expressive.