Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi
Villa Sparina
- Grape
- Cortese
- Denomination
- Gavi/Cortese di Gavi DOCG
- Region
- Piedmont
- Drink
- Now to 2029
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, salty core with a long almond finish. A reliable seafood and aperitivo white.
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Where to buy Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi
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What Villa Sparina's Gavi di Gavi tastes like
Peach, citrus and a flinty almond edge: the Cortese profile drawn from Villa Sparina's Monterotondo vineyards.
- Tasted by
- ItalianWines editorial
- Tasted on
- 12 June 2026
- Source
- Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
- Typical of Cortese
Villa Sparina's Gavi di Gavi opens on white peach and apricot lifted by lemon and grapefruit. Tree fruit and citrus lead every glass. White flowers and a flinty, almond-skin note sit behind, the flint and almond signature Cortese takes from the Monterotondo vineyards.
The wine is dry and lively, with the tangy, salty edge Cortese takes from the Gavi hills. Stone fruit and ripe Meyer lemon carry a steel-fermented freshness: no oak weight, just bright acidity over a stony, salty core.
The finish is long and harmonious. It closes on the savoury, slightly almond trace that is typical of Cortese and that the producer flags as the wine's signature.
This is a benchmark Gavi. James Suckling has scored recent vintages around 91 points, and it is a well-liked everyday white. 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 bottling.
Buying Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi
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.
Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi by use case
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, a salty, stony edge 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.
A respected DOCG but an entry-to-mid white, better as an aperitivo or weeknight bottle than a special-occasion pour.
A steel-fermented, drink-young white with no ageing mandate, built for freshness rather than the cellar.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.
Gavi/Cortese di Gavi in five fields
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.
Gavi di Gavi across the 2023 to 2025 vintages
A steel-fermented white built for freshness: drink the current Villa Sparina release young, within about three years of the harvest.
- Best price
- £16.90
- Retailers
- 2 in stock
- Window
- Drink now through 2029
The youngest release, all primary peach and citrus. Drink the 2025 on release and over the next few years for maximum freshness.
- Best price
- not listed
- Retailers
- 0 in stock
- Window
- Drink now through 2028
A classic, bright release for early drinking. Enjoy the 2024 young while its citrus and stone fruit are at their freshest, through about 2028.
- Best price
- £25.86
- Retailers
- 1 in stock
- Window
- Drink now through 2027
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.
- Best price
- £24.95
- Retailers
- 1 in stock
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.
Seafood, fritto and vitello tonnato: dishes for a saline Gavi
Villa Sparina's bright Cortese acidity and almond, salty finish lift Ligurian and Piedmontese seafood, fried antipasti and creamy tuna sauces.
Tomato, mozzarella and pesto antipasti
Gavi's lively Cortese acidity and salty 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 →
Fried antipasti and seafood fritto
The wine's crisp acidity and stony, salty 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 →
Light seafood risotto and white fish
Medium-light in body with no oak, Villa Sparina's Gavi matches delicate seafood risotto and steamed white fish without overpowering them. Its stony edge mirrors the sea-salt character of the dish.
Try with: Squid ink risotto · Baccala Mantecato · Steamed sea bass · More pairings →
Pesto, basil and almond
The almond and white-flower notes the producer flags in Cortese bridge to basil, pine nut and the herbal side of Ligurian cooking. Pesto is a natural neighbour from just over the Piedmont border.
Try with: Trofie al pesto · Insalata Caprese · More pairings →
Vitello tonnato and salt cod
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 →
Heavy chilli heat and sweet-sour sauces
Skip high-chilli curries and sweet-sour dishes. Gavi has no sweetness or oak weight to absorb chilli heat, so fiery spice flattens its delicate citrus and stony notes and leaves the wine tasting thin.
Skip with: Kerala prawn curry · Tandoori prawns · Sweet and sour prawns · Pairing guide →
Should you cellar Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi?
This is a drink-young Cortese, not a wine to lay down; only Villa Sparina's oak-aged Monterotondo bottling rewards real cellar time.
Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
Pour it straight from the bottle.
Aim for the cooler end on a warm day; warmer end opens up more aromatics.
A steel-fermented, drink-young white with no ageing mandate, built for freshness rather than the cellar.
£16.90 for a 75cl bottle of the 2025, at Vino, is the best price we track, and we have no signal of further discounting.
Sources for this Villa Sparina Gavi
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 6 Oct 2026, 02:29 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 · MediumExplore Gavi, Cortese and Piedmont
Common Questions
It is 100 percent Cortese, the white grape of the Gavi hills in south-east Piedmont. Villa Sparina grows it on the land of the town of Gavi itself, the historic core of the DOCG.
Crisp and dry, with white peach and apricot, lemon and grapefruit, a flinty, stony core and the savoury almond finish typical of Cortese. It sees only steel, no oak.
Its bright acidity and salty 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 it is a well-liked everyday white.
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 bottling is built for long cellaring.
It is the top tier of the Gavi zone, restricted to Cortese grown on the land of the town of Gavi itself. Wines labelled del Comune di Gavi, or Gavi di Gavi, come only from that historic zone.
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