Rocche del Gatto – Pigato & Vermentino
After a decade of solitary experiments and a growing line of brilliant releases, Rocche del Gatto (www.lerocchedelgatto.it) represent today one of Liguria’ most interesting, self-styled small growers, determined to propose an extreme, highly individual interpretation of Pigato and Vermentino varietal whites.
Rocche del Gatto specializes in producing concentrated, marine whites from estate vines located in the Ponente region of Liguria, made entirely from the native Pigato, Vermentino and Ormeasco varieties. Owner Fausto De Andreis, agronomist and one-man-winery, is credited by Gambero Rosso as the ‘last Pigato artisan’.
Rocche del Gatto operates in one of the most beautiful and picturesque corners of Italy, the Riviera Ligure di Ponente, in westernmost reaches of Liguria close to the French border. Here alpine mountains meet the Mediterranean, producing a landscape of breathtaking contrasts: rugged coastal peaks, vivid maritime colours, ancient villages and steep vineyards intermixed by olive groves facing onto the Tyrrhenian sea. Rocche del Gatto estate vineyards amount to 5 Ha., concentrated in the commune of Albenga.
The annual wine production barely reaches 35.000 bottles, split into classic varietals such as Pigato, Vermentino and Rossese, plus the not-so-common red-berry Ormeasco [presumed to be a local clone of the Dolcetto variety from Piedmont]. Fausto De Andreis is a self-made agronomist and winemaker who meticulously take care of every phase of production from planting and pruning up until bottling and labeling.
Rocche del Gatto rejects the mainstream interpretation of Pigato as a light-bodied, easy-drinking Pinot-Grigio-wannabe, and Fausto is determined to extract the most of perfumes and complexity from the native Pigato grape [whose innate vocation is in his vision to produce profound, vinous and marine whites capable of medium-term ageing]. Therefore Fausto makes Pigato with a short maceration on the skins during the alcoholic fermentation, but unlike other Italian wine growers who produce unconventional whites (Gravner, Radikon, Maule etc.), he does the maceration on the skin under a reductive, non-oxidative environment at controlled temperature, to prevent the least oxidation of the aromas.
Rocche del Gatto 2004 Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato shows the structure, the energy and the length of a red wine, and requires a few minutes of aeration in the glass to unleash its complex bouquet of ripe citrus and Mediterranean herbs [serve at cool, never cold temperature]. Because of their innate diversity and deep golden colour, Fausto De Andreis’ Pigato are occasionally denied the Doc seal issued by the local committee: thus the premium Pigato selection ‘Spigau’ comes as VdT white wine.
Website: www.lerocchedelgatto.it
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