Pigato

Pigato is the prince white grape of Liguria di Ponente, characteristic and exceptional especially of the hinterland of Albenga. Considered a clone of vermentino, pigato however is able to reach more complete ripening, so much so that the berries become golden in colour and have small dark spots on the surface, called "pighe". Some believe the vine has origins from ancient Thessaly. It is not overplaying it to claim that pigato gives some of the best white wines in Italy, also for longevity. The best areas are the marixe cru, a terrace exposed to the sun just inside Albenga, which directly receives the climate of the Ligurian Sea, the Ranzo cru, even more inland, and finally that of the heights of Diano Arentino, in the province of Imperia. A sea wine of course, but also a mountain wine, pigato gives a straw-golden wine with intense, fruity and floral scents, whose minerality is given both by the nuances of Mediterranean scrub and by the vegetal and chalk whiffs typical of the hills. On the palate it generally expresses a full structure, good softness, good acidity and pronounced sapidity, with a pleasant almond finish. Usually aged in steel only, it is also suitable for ageing in wood and withered.