Vines 50-70 years old. Clay soil mixed with pebbles. Pressed without destemming. Less than an hour from harvest to pressing. No MLF to preserve freshness. Gavi has a total of 11 regions, and Rovereto is the oldest and highest quality grape producing area. Rovereto is known as Gavi's Grand Cru. This area is home to Picollo Ernesto, a specialist that has been producing only Gavi-Cortese grapes since the mid-1800s. The owners are father Ernesto and son Gian Lorenzo. It is a true family business run by their wives and children. Picollo Ernesto is located on the middle slopes of Rovereto, a very good vineyard in the village of Gavi, at an altitude of 250-300m. All the vineyards are on gentle slopes. Most of the grapes are over 70 years old. The grapes are only Cortese grapes, and the vineyards are organically grown. This makes the vineyard less susceptible to the effects of rainfall, and allows them to harvest grapes of consistent quality every year in healthy conditions. In the past, all of the grapes they cultivated and harvested were sold to the nearby prestigious La Scolca, but in 1994 they began bottling them under Azienda Agricola. Recently, more and more Gavi wineries have adopted enologos, and more winemakers are using barrels, but at Picollo, in order to respect the individuality of the Cortese grape, all of their wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel. They are also true specialists, pursuing only the quality of their specialty, Cortese, and never making any other grapes or other cuvées.