2020 Ca' d'Gal Moscato Sant'Ilario

This wine is simply a revelation. It’s drawn from a single hectare of 70-year-old vines, some 10 kilometres from Boido’s winery in Cassinasco, on a south-facing hillside with limestone-rich soils. Cassinasco is one of only 19 villages (out of a total of 52 in the Moscato DOCG) included in the newly ratified Canelli DOCG. Moscato fruit from this subzone surrounding the town of Canelli has been grown since the 13th century and has always been associated with greatness. It is in the heart of the region, where the chalky soils and high altitude are perfect for Moscato. For the fourth year (out of six releases) this 2020 was awarded the coveted Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri—an extraordinary feat for a wine style so often associated with frivolity. Those glasses are well earned here. This is a wine more than capable of expressing itself with complex food. Of course, it can work with the classics—hazelnut-based desserts, fruit and cream tarts etc.—but it also has the intensity and mineral drive to partner with all kinds of savoury foods, much like a good Mosel Spätlese.