Another delightful wine discovery from the Cavinona wine agency. This is a Cortese from the Piedmont DOC Colli Tortonesi and my first experience with this varietal. This particular Cortese comes from a small, family-run operation led by Elisa Semino that believes in the terroir and the varietal they have at hand so the excellent result should not be a surprise. The wine is straw coloured with tinges of green and gold. The nose is muted but there is a dominant aroma I associate with oak influenced wines. Citrus fruit and foresty notes do come into play. (I did not have technical notes to determine whether oak was actually used in the vinification. I would think that this is atypical for this style of wine). The palate is more exuberant than the nose would suggest and is dominated by nectarine and citrus fruit flavours, in particular grapefruit, with bracing acidity and a pleasantly bitter mineral streak. Good length on the finish. A really versatile food wine which was ideal with the sole I had the night this wine was tasted.