Villa Sparina
Villa Sparina's Gavi del Comune di Gavi DOCG is a crisp, 100% Cortese white from the Gavi hills of Piedmont. White peach, lemon and grapefruit sit over a flinty, saline core with a long almond finish. A reliable seafood and aperitivo white.
Peach, citrus and a flinty almond edge: the Cortese profile drawn from Villa Sparina's Monterotondo vineyards and more than 18,000 Vivino reviews.
Villa Sparina's Gavi del Comune di Gavi opens on white peach and apricot lifted by lemon and grapefruit, the tree-fruit and citrus pairing that dominates its 18,000-plus Vivino reviews. White flowers and a flinty, almond-skin note sit behind, the flint and almond Cortese signature the estate draws from its Monterotondo vineyards.
Grapefruit
Lemon
Acacia
Apricot
White peach
Flint
Wet stones
AlmondDry and lively, with the tangy salinity and minerality Villa Sparina ties to the Cortese grape and the Gavi hills. Stone fruit and ripe Meyer lemon carry a steel-fermented freshness: no oak weight, just bright acidity over a stony, saline core.
Long and harmonious, closing on the savoury, slightly almond trace that is typical of Cortese and that the producer flags as the wine's signature.
A benchmark Gavi: James Suckling has scored recent vintages around 91 points and the Vivino crowd holds it at 3.9 from more than 18,000 ratings, with the 2023 ranked among the top 3 percent of all wines. Drink it young as a crisp aperitivo or seafood white; this is the classic, food-friendly face of Villa Sparina's range, not the oak-aged Monterotondo cru.
Three vintages are stocked in the UK right now, 2023 to 2025, roughly 16 to 27 pounds. The youngest, freshest release usually offers the best value.
Where a crisp, sub-20-pound Cortese earns its keep: a strong food and everyday white, less of a cellar or occasion bottle.
Bright Cortese acidity, saline minerality and no oak make this a versatile seafood and antipasti white, scoring high on food.
A classic, approachable expression of indigenous Cortese at a mid price, easy for newcomers to enjoy.
Crisp, food-friendly and mostly under 20 pounds, an easy everyday white, with a small penalty where vintages climb past 20.
At roughly 16 to 27 pounds against a Gavi DOCG norm near 18, the young fresh vintages offer good value; the older 2023 less so.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Gavi/Cortese di Gavi denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
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A steel-fermented white built for freshness: drink the current Villa Sparina release young, within about three years of the harvest.
The youngest release, all primary peach and citrus. Drink the 2025 on release and over the next few years for maximum freshness.
A classic, bright release for early drinking. Enjoy the 2024 young while its citrus and stone fruit are at their freshest, through about 2028.
A fresh, well-balanced Gavi vintage; the Vivino community ranks the 2023 among the top 3 percent of all wines. Drinking well now and through about 2027.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Cortese grown inside the commune of Gavi, the historic core of the DOCG, hand-harvested at Villa Sparina's Monterotondo estate.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Gavi/Cortese di Gavi is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Gavi/Cortese di Gavi falls within Piedmont , covering Piedmont.
Villa Sparina sources only from the commune of Gavi, the DOCG's historic core, off mature south and south-west facing vineyards at Monterotondo, costlier fruit than broad Gavi DOC sourcing.
The Moccagatta family runs Villa Sparina as a single territorial estate around Gavi with hand-harvesting, which carries more cost than bulk negoce Gavi bottled by merchant houses.
The standard Gavi is fermented and held briefly in stainless steel with no barrel ageing, so it avoids the oak and long-cellar costs carried by the Monterotondo cru.
Gavi del Comune di Gavi is the commune-restricted top tier of the appellation, a stricter and higher-cost classification than generic Gavi DOCG or Piemonte Cortese.
UK still-wine duty adds 2.67 pounds a bottle and 20 percent VAT applies on top, together a large share of the roughly 16 to 27 pound UK shelf price.
James Suckling has scored recent vintages around 91 points and 18,000-plus Vivino reviews keep demand steady, which supports the UK price.
Dishes that complement this wine
Villa Sparina's bright Cortese acidity and almond, saline finish lift Ligurian and Piedmontese seafood, fried antipasti and creamy tuna sauces.
Gavi's lively Cortese acidity and saline lift cut ripe tomato and fresh mozzarella, while its herbal, almond edge echoes basil and pesto. The wine refreshes between bites without adding weight.
Try with: Insalata Caprese · Trofie al pesto · Focaccia Genovese · More pairings →
The wine's crisp acidity and stony, saline core slice through hot oil and salt, resetting the palate after fried antipasti and briny seafood. Cortese brings the freshness fried food needs.
Try with: Gnocco fritto · Squid ink risotto · Focaccia Genovese · More pairings →
Medium-light in body with no oak, Villa Sparina's Gavi matches delicate seafood risotto and steamed white fish without overpowering them, its minerality mirroring the sea-salt character of the dish.
Try with: Squid ink risotto · Baccala Mantecato · Steamed sea bass · More pairings →
The almond and white-flower notes the producer flags in Cortese bridge to basil, pine nut and the herbal side of Ligurian cooking, making pesto a natural neighbour from just over the Piedmont border.
Try with: Trofie al pesto · Insalata Caprese · More pairings →
Bright acidity scrubs the rich tuna-and-caper sauce of Piedmont's vitello tonnato and the creamy salt cod of baccala mantecato, the wine's freshness keeping each mouthful light.
Try with: Vitello Tonnato · Baccala Mantecato · More pairings →
Skip high-chilli curries and sweet-sour dishes. Gavi has no residual sugar or oak weight to absorb capsaicin heat, so fiery spice flattens its delicate citrus and minerality and leaves the wine tasting thin.
Skip with: Kerala prawn curry · Tandoori prawns · Sweet and sour prawns · Pairing guide →
This is a drink-young Cortese, not a wine to lay down; only Villa Sparina's oak-aged Monterotondo cru rewards real cellar time.
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
A steel-fermented, drink-young white with no ageing mandate, built for freshness rather than the cellar.
£16.09 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 7 Jun 2026, 14:19 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is 100 percent Cortese, the white grape of the Gavi hills in south-east Piedmont. Villa Sparina grows it inside the commune of Gavi, the historic core of the DOCG.
Crisp and dry, with white peach and apricot, lemon and grapefruit, a flinty mineral core and the savoury almond finish typical of Cortese. It sees only steel, no oak.
Its bright acidity and saline finish suit seafood and fried antipasti: squid ink risotto, trofie al pesto, vitello tonnato and insalata caprese. Serve it well chilled at 8 to 10C.
Yes, it is a benchmark Gavi. James Suckling has scored recent vintages around 91 points and the Vivino community rates it 3.9 from more than 18,000 reviews, with the 2023 among the top 3 percent of all wines.
Drink it young, ideally within three years of the vintage, to catch its fresh citrus and stone fruit. Only Villa Sparina's oak-aged Monterotondo cru is built for long cellaring.
It is the top tier of the Gavi appellation, restricted to Cortese grown inside the Gavi commune itself. Wines labelled del Comune di Gavi, or Gavi di Gavi, come only from that historic zone.
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