2024 Denavolo Catavela

Light, zesty, and textured without ever being heavy — citrus zest, orange blossom, stone fruit, and a saline mineral thread from clay-limestone soils in the Trebbia Valley, with a soft tannin grip and a refreshing, aromatic finish that lands somewhere between white wine and orange without fully committing to either. The 2024 Denavolo "Catavela" is organically and biodynamically farmed Malvasia di Candia, Ortugo, and Marsanne from 3 hectares near Travo in Emilia-Romagna — six days on skins, spontaneous fermentation, eight months on lees in tank, zero sulfur, unfiltered, unfined. Giulio Armani is the cellar master at the legendary La Stoppa and makes Denavolo as a separate obsession — a winemaker who has spent decades questioning why red and white wines must be made so differently, and using skin-contact whites to find the answer. The best entry point to that question, at a price that makes it impossible not to try.