Albino Rocca Cortese 2023 (6 Bottles) Barbaresco, Italy

As far as we know, this unique wine is the only Cortese grown within the boundaries of Barbaresco, so perhaps the fact that the Rocca’s grow it at all should be clue enough that we’re on to something special and unique. The one-hectare plot of 40-year-old vines are rooted in Montegrosso d’Asti (in Barbaresco, just south of Asti itself) on clay and limestone soils. It was aged in a mix of stainless steel and mature French oak (just four months in barrel).

It’s a deeply textural white, with layers of fresh Bosc pear, saline minerality and some wild herbs, underpinned by ripe fruit weight underpinned by chalky freshness and some phenolic chewiness on the finish.