2024 Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, Ermes Pavese

• Style: Crystalline Alpine White
• Taste: Green apple, white pepper, alpine herbs, stony minerality
• Food: Shellfish, white fish, salads, vegetables, oily fish
• Occasion: Sunday lunch, date night, aperitivo
• Serve: Cold, 12% ABV, bone dry

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Green apple and white pepper sing across a razor-sharp palate, underscored by alpine herbs and stony minerality that lingers with almost saline precision. This is white wine stripped to its essentials: at 12% alcohol and bone-dry, expect delicate floral notes and herbal depth that refuses to compromise on freshness. Whole-bunch pressing and nine months on the lees with bâttonnage have softened the grape's natural tartness without dulling the mineral edge that defines it.

The Winery — Ermes Pavese

In 1999, Ermes Pavese and his wife Milena began tending ungrafted vines at nearly 1200 metres on the slopes of Mont Blanc, in the village of Le Ruine within the Commune of Morgex. Their remote vineyards, situated between 900–1200 m above sea level, are so isolated they work with pre-phylloxera vines that have survived for over a century — a testament to ancient resilience shaped entirely by altitude and isolation. Prié Blanc, the indigenous grape of Valle d'Aosta, is a frost-resistant early ripener perfectly adapted to these extreme alpine conditions; less than 40 hectares exist worldwide, nearly all found here in Morgex and La Salle, worked entirely by hand. The 2024 vintage demanded rigorous discipline: humidity and disease pressure required careful hand-sorting at harvest to protect the fruit's integrity.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

This bone-dry alpine white pairs beautifully with shellfish and crustaceans, white fish, herb-dressed salads, spring vegetables, and oily fish — or simply demands a quiet glass on its own. Serve it cold as an aperitivo, alongside a Sunday lunch spread, or to accompany a date night table where delicate, mineral-driven wine elevates conversation over food. The wine's commitment to traditional pergola bassa training and pre-phylloxera viticulture reflects sound vineyard practice: these methods protect the crop from alpine nocturnal chill and preserve the distinctive character of one of Europe's rarest grapes. Vegetarian and vegan friendly. Explore altitude as flavour by browsing our Italy selection, and discover more exceptional examples in our Light & Crispy White Wine range.