It's not every day that a wine seems good enough to totally blow me away and here's an absolute stunner from the dramatic Vallee d'Aosta in northern Italy where the Swiss white grape Petite Arvine grows at 550 metres above sea level on the Rovettaz vineyard. This wine has freshness to burn, is bone dry, full bodied and has layers of flavour from ripe grapefruit to fresh lemon juice to beautifully structured salty minerality. I usually avoid the 'm' word but it seems apt here. This drinks beautifully on its own and also matches superbly with seafood. 

Petite Arvine was first planted at Grosjean in the early 1980s and has been organically farmed since 2011. The wine is currently aged partly in steel and partly in oak, 70% stainless steel and 30% used barriques.

It is available in New Zealand in small volumes, including at Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington - where I work as a wine adviser.