2012 La Palmetta Pigato, Riviera Ligure di Ponente, Massaretti, Liguria

2012 La Palmetta Pigato, Riviera Ligure di Ponente, Massaretti, Liguria

Product: 22083
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2012 La Palmetta Pigato, Riviera Ligure di Ponente, Massaretti, Liguria

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Description

Tasted blind you’d be forgiven for thinking it was from Sancerre or Chablis, for such is the finely poised, medium/full bodied, citrus, wet/lime-stone saltiness that this 100% Pigato (Vermentino), unoaked wine shows. No surprise given the fruit heralds from a 250 msl, terraced vineyard located halfway between the snowy Maritime Alps and the Mediterranean, set back 13km from the coastline among the wild Ligurian macchia at Pogli. So there’s constant ventilation, even in summer, keeping the fruit and aromas fresh, while the schistous and quartz soils drain almost too well, restricting the size of the normally quite large Pigato bunches, and giving great, almost mandarin intensity at the same time.

Pigato is a cousin of Vermentino; the name derives from the pinprick stains on the skin, while organoleptically it’s more aromatic than Vermentino, more Sauvignon-esque in fact. ‘La Palmetta’ refers not to the trees that line the Ligurian coastline but actually to the type of trellising preferred by Agostino ‘Pippo’ Parodi, father of Ivana and Brunella, in the shape of a palm. Great with finely cut lettuce, drizzled with Ligurian olive oil, anchovies or capers, and of coarse warm focaccia.
David Berry Green This 100% unoaked Pigato, also known as Vermentino, is a charming wine with a delicate freshness offering lemon & white blossom, and has a lovely clean finish.
Chris Lamb, London Shop

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About this WINE

Feipu dei Massaretti, Liguria

Feipu dei Massaretti, Liguria

Located in the Ligurian Riviera at Albenga, between the hills and the Mediterranean sea, Cascina Feipu dei Massaretti is a producer of classic Pigato, along with local reds Rossese and Granaccia. The cantina was founded by Agostino and Bice Parodi who first planted Pigato in 1965. Pigato is the local white grape, a relative of Vermentino but more aromatic and with darker skins.

They own 5.2 hectares plus rent a further 0.8 hectares. The Pigato is planted both on the alluvial sandy flats in Albenga, within a radius of 1km of the cantina, and on the schistous slopes of the hills 13 km inland.

They started bottling during the 1970s. Their son-in-law Mirco Mastroianni joined the cantina in 1997, along with a new winemaker. In 1996 and 1997 they tried ageing the wines in barriques but soon found this compromised the purity of the Pigato, which is now vinified only in stainless steel. They avoid malolactic conversion to retain fresh acidity.

Two Pigato Riviera Ligure di Ponente wines are made by Massaretti: one, a fleshy Pigato from the alluvial soils close to the cantina, the other a more focused, minerally example called ‘La Palmetta’  compromised, almost exclusively, of fruit from the more demanding stony soils of the coastal hills behind Albenga. ‘La Palmetta’ was first made in the 2006 vintage

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Vermentino/Pigato

Vermentino/Pigato

Vermentino is a white wine grape, also known as Rolle (in Rousillion and Provence) & Malvoisie in Corsica . It migrated from the Iberian Peninsula in the late 1300s (Madeira?) into Corsica, Sardinia, Liguria and Tuscany during the 15th century.
Traditionally believed to be related to Malvasia, recent DNA studies have instead revealed traits in common with the Hungarian Furmint.

Vermentino di Gallura DOCG is one of the most famous incarnation - The grape has recently become fashionable in parts of central Italy. Often blended for its structure, on its own the grape displays aromatic ripe peach and honeyed notes and a full body.

Tenuta di Valgiano incorporate a significant slug of this grape into their 'Giallo dei Muri' Tuscan wine

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