Taking your first sip of today’s invigorating white from Liguria is like jumping straight into the ocean rather than tiptoeing in gradually. All summer long we’ve been hyping coastal whites as the wines of the moment, and every time we think we’ve discovered the ultimate example, another one comes along and demands a platform of its own. Today’s briny, citrusy Pigato from Durin packs a seemingly impossible amount of character into a $25 bottle, and as you learn more about the place and the maker behind it, you almost can’t believe your luck. It’s not often that a wine at this price point speaks so clearly of its place of origin, while also being so fresh and straightforwardly satisfying.

It feels somehow effortless, when in fact it requires maximum effort to produce: Durin’s importer describes Ligurian viticulture as “inspired madness” (a phrase I wish I’d thought of), which is especially true for proprietor Antonio Basso, who tends to 40 acres of vineyards spread across 259 (!) separate plots. Most of these are not much bigger than a backyard garden, clinging to the slopes of mountains that separate Liguria from Piedmont. About 15 kilometers away is the Mediterranean Sea. That’s what Liguria is—a narrow strip of mountains and an even narrower strip of beach—and this kind of invigorating white is its calling card. Thankfully there are still a few people, like Basso, crazy enough to make wine here. It’s special, plain and simple.

Basso’s home base, Ortovero, is a hillside town west of Genoa, one of an assortment of winemaking villages hung like charms on a chain all the way to Italy’s border with France. The appellation name (DOC) given to this stretch of western Liguria is “Riviera Ligure di Ponente,” and yes, this is the “Italian Riviera”: Whereas Ortovero is tucked up in the thickly wooded hills above Albenga, a whole host of beach towns down below welcome tourists from all over. Liguria’s topography is, in fact, mostly mountainous, and those mountains often end very abruptly at the edge of the Mediterranean, as in Cinque Terre to the east.

Durin, with just 40 acres, is one of Liguria’s larger wine estates. Small scale is a fact of life here, and the difficulties of managing tiny vineyard plots ranging in altitude from 150 to 1,400 feet is not for everyone. Countless producers have abandoned viticulture here in favor of less labor-intensive agriculture but Basso has stayed the course and is now blessed with Pigato vines which, in some instances, exceed 80 years of age. Vines for today’s wine average an impressive 50 years old, and the soils in its source vineyards, while diverse, are mostly sandy clays with limestone (known locally as terra bianca). 

The Pigato variety is thought to be a genetic mutation of Vermentino (a.k.a. Rolle in France), even though producers usually insist that they are completely different grapes—Pigato has its origins in Liguria (via Greece), and while Vermentino has dispersed to many other regions, Pigato has remained resolutely local. In my experience, it can be difficult to tell the two grapes apart: Both have an aromatic profile that hints at both the sea and the pine forest, with notes of wild green herbs like sage and rosemary and lots of salinity.

So it is with Durin’s spot-on, new-release 2020: Vinified and aged in tank and already rarin’ to go, this is coastal white wine at its finest. In the glass, it’s a pale yellow-gold with green and silver highlights at the rim. Scents of sage and mint, green melon and apple, wildflower honey, and sea spray all greet you on first sniff, and carry through to the medium-bodied palate, which is both generously fruity and saline/savory. It is brisk and refreshing, but not just a salty rinse—there’s lots of aromatic complexity, and layers of flavor, to make it genuinely memorable. Serve it around 45 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems alongside the simple beauty of the sea: a whole grilled branzino, stuffed with herbs and lemons and grilled, then drizzled with your best olive oil. Maybe a snappy herb salad and a few little potatoes on the side. Repeat often until the weather turns chilly. It never gets old, believe me. Enjoy!