Roberto Mazzarello is a small family estate in Gavi, with roots in winemaking dating back to 1850. Based around Bosio, in the southern part of the appellation, the estate works vineyards set into the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines, where altitude, woodland, limestone, tuff and marine-influenced soils give Cortese a more serious expression.

This is not the flat, neutral side of Gavi. “Vigna le Zucche” comes from a single vineyard in Costa di Bosio, a historic site already recorded on old cadastral maps. The vineyard sits in a cooler, more elevated part of the appellation, where the landscape feels closer to mountain than plain. That setting is crucial to the wine: freshness from altitude, structure from poor soils, and a mineral, saline edge from the area’s marine sediment.

Cortese is often underestimated because basic Gavi can be simple and forgettable. On the right soils, with proper vineyard work, it becomes something far more precise: citrus, green apple, pear, white flowers, almond and a clean mineral line. Vigna le Zucche captures that side of the grape. It is bright and direct, but with enough texture and savoury detail to make it a proper food wine.

For Brix, Roberto Mazzarello shows exactly why Gavi deserves a more serious look. This is a historic family estate, working distinctive land, making single vineyard Cortese with clarity, freshness and real regional character.