La Scolca Gavi Di Gavi Black

La Scolca Gavi Di Gavi Black Label is a 100% Cortese white wine from Piedmont, Italy, bottled at 12% ABV in a standard 750ml format. This flagship expression has earned 90 points from both James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast, along with Gold at the Sommeliers Choice Awards, establishing it as a benchmark for the Gavi DOCG appellation.

Quick Facts: ABV: 12%  |  Origin: Gavi, Piedmont, Italy  |  Style: Dry White, DOCG  |  Winery: La Scolca

Production & Heritage

La Scolca, founded in 1919, is widely credited as the estate that pioneered single-vineyard Gavi and helped define the appellation's identity in the broader Italian wine landscape. The Black Label expression is sourced exclusively from vineyards over sixty years of age, with cluster-by-cluster selection ensuring only the most concentrated Cortese fruit enters the winery. Fermentation takes place cold in stainless steel, with partial skin maceration before the wine rests sur lie on its native lees until bottling — a technique that builds textural weight and complexity without masking the grape's mineral signature.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Citrus blossom and lemon rind dominate the opening, followed by crushed stone, fresh apricot, and a subtle flinty quality. Beneath the fruit sits a quiet thread of almond and orchard-blossom that reveals itself with time in the glass.

Taste: The entry is bone-dry and immediately bright, with concentrated lemon citrus giving way to a mid-palate of crisp minerality and faint nutmeg spice. Medium-bodied yet precise, the Cortese character comes through as a taut, focused energy — flinty and clean with enough textural depth from sur lie aging to avoid austerity.

Finish: Lingering and defined, the finish carries hazelnut and almond accents alongside persistent stony minerality. The length is impressive for a wine at this weight, trailing off with a saline, almost chalky dryness.

How to Drink Gavi Di Gavi Black Label

Serve chilled between 8–10°C to preserve the wine's aromatic precision while allowing its textural complexity to emerge. This is a wine that rewards patience — pour it into a wider white wine glass and revisit as it opens over twenty minutes.

• Spritz Piemontese: Use in place of a still Prosecco base for a drier, more mineral-driven spritz with elderflower liqueur and soda.
• White Negroni: The flinty backbone and dry finish stand up well against Suze and dry vermouth, adding citrus depth.
• Classic Wine Pairing (Neat): This expression is at its strongest served simply alongside food rather than in cocktails — its complexity is best appreciated unadorned.

Best For

• Gifting an Italian wine enthusiast who already knows Barolo and Barbaresco
• Anchoring a Piedmontese dinner with a serious opening white
• Exploring old-vine Cortese for the first time at a benchmark level
• Replacing Chablis at a tasting with a structurally comparable Italian alternative

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Gavi Di Gavi Black Label taste like? It is bone-dry with intense lemon citrus, crushed-stone minerality, and a distinctive hazelnut and almond finish. The sur lie aging adds a creamy textural dimension beneath the bright acidity.

How does Gavi Di Gavi Black Label compare to Chablis? Both share a flinty, mineral-driven profile with restrained fruit and high acidity, but the Black Label leans more toward citrus blossom and almond rather than Chablis's green apple and oyster-shell character. The Cortese grape also delivers a slightly rounder mid-palate than unoaked Chardonnay at comparable quality levels.

Is Gavi Di Gavi Black Label good for sipping neat? Absolutely — this is primarily a food wine and contemplative sipper, with enough complexity from old-vine fruit and lees contact to hold attention on its own without embellishment.

Where is Gavi Di Gavi Black Label made? It is produced by La Scolca, an estate founded in 1919 in the Gavi commune of southeastern Piedmont, Italy. The vineyards sit within the Gavi DOCG appellation, the only Italian denomination devoted exclusively to the Cortese grape.

What foods pair well with Gavi Di Gavi Black Label? Raw shellfish and oysters echo the wine's saline minerality. Vitello tonnato bridges the almond finish with its creamy sauce. Risotto with lemon and Parmigiano highlights the citrus core. Grilled branzino with capers and olives matches the wine's Mediterranean brightness. Aged Robiola cheese draws out the nutty, lees-derived complexity.

What sizes does Gavi Di Gavi Black Label come in? The standard release is a 750ml bottle, which is the most widely available format.

Is Gavi Di Gavi Black Label worth the price? It positions as a premium Gavi — priced above everyday Cortese but justified by old-vine sourcing, sur lie vinification, and consistent critical recognition including dual 90-point scores from James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast.

Why Gavi Di Gavi Black Label?

La Scolca's Black Label stands apart in the Gavi DOCG because it draws exclusively from vines over sixty years old, an uncommon commitment that concentrates the Cortese grape's naturally subtle personality into something genuinely expressive. The sur lie method with native lees — rather than cultured — preserves site-specific character while adding a textural layer that most Gavi at any price point simply cannot replicate. Dual 90-point scores from James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast, combined with Gold medals at the Sommeliers Choice Awards, confirm that this is not a producer coasting on heritage alone. For anyone serious about Italian white wine, it remains one of the most reliable and rewarding expressions of what Cortese can achieve.