Toscana Bianco “Livia”

In 2008, Jacopo Di Battista did something no one expected of a Chianti Classico producer: he planted Rhône Valley grapes. A tiny half-acre parcel, just 2,000 vines, split evenly between Viognier and Roussanne — an experiment born purely from curiosity. He named the vineyard, and the wine, after Livia, the family’s only granddaughter, part Italian and part French, just like the blend in the bottle. Her tiny footprint, taken at two or three months old, still graces the label today.

The wine glints light gold in the glass, with subtle scents of white peach, apricot, and rose giving way to mimosa, magnolia, elderflower, apple, and pineapple. On the palate, Viognier and Roussanne blend beautifully and luxuriantly together — full, textured, and vivid, yet lifted by the bright acidity this cool, high-altitude single vineyard delivers even in the height of Tuscan summer. Time in French oak tonneau adds a whisper of vanilla and toasted almond beneath the fruit.

Querceto’s only white wine, made in vanishingly small quantities and gone from cellars almost as fast as it’s released. Pour it with sushi, fritto misto, white meats, or a dish built around summer or winter squash — and toast to a small, beautiful experiment that worked.

Appellation: Toscana IGT

Type: White, dry

Blend: 50% Viognier, 50% Roussanne