I Stefanini Monte de Toni Soave Classico 2014
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Best served with first courses, like pasta, soup or risotto with fish and vegetables. Ideal also with shellfish and white grilled meat or with fresh and medium aged cheeses, like Grana Padano and Taleggio.
Today the estate encompasses 20 hectares, half of which are planted with grape vines. Valentino Tessari, father of Francesco, manages the vineyards, while Francesco crafts the wines in a decidedly traditional manner. Presently, the techniques of cultivating the vines while respecting the land, and exalting the quality of the product encompass the current agronomic methodology. The Stefanini wines, in accordance with traditional winemaking techniques of Soave, are not aged in oak barrels, but in carefully lined tanks made of stainless steel.
Francesco Tessari is one of the only producers who has launched the concept of a high quality Soave wine, capable of offering a rich fleshiness without losing its drinkability or fragrance. He effectively controls yields in the vineyard, even for his simplest wines, which is coupled with an intermittent search for maturity, which allows for the production of only the most ambitious labels of the highest quality vintage. The result is a fresh and fruity wine, which continues to gain top scores in all major wine guides and current reviews.
One of Italy’s classic white varieties, Garganega flourishes in the rolling vineyards surrounding the medieval village of Soave and is the dominant variety in the wine from the region, aptly known as, Soave. By law it makes up 70-100% of the blend with the remainder traditionally finished off by Trebbiano di Soave for its crispness. Somm Secret—The best Soave wines, measurably elegant and vibrant, come from the Soave Classico zone, in the center of Soave, where the hills are made of decomposed volcanic and granitic soils.
Among Italy’s classic whites capable of great potential, Soave is named after the medieval village and surrounding hillsides from whence it comes. The original, historical Soave zone, delimited back in 1927, covers the eastern, volcanic hillsides of today's general Soave zone and is called Soave Classico.
Garganega, the indigenous grape responsible for great Soave, produces medium bodied white wines with fine acidity. Typical in the best Soaves are lively flowery and fresh herbal aromas and flavors such as orange zest, peach, melon and marjoram. The best can take some age and in so doing, develop notes of chamomile, marmalade and honey.
By the 1960s and 70s, Soave was enjoying such a glorious global reputation, that its demand forced growers to push beyond the zone's original borders. Expansion led west out of the hills and onto the alluvial plain of the Adige River. This, coupled with an increase in yields and allowance of additional varieties such as Trebbiano, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, met demand but created a softer, fruit-forward, everyday Soave. Today the broader region can be the source of charming and value driven whites. But those labeled as Soave Classico or in rare cases, as Soave Colli Scaligeri (nearby hillside vineyards abutting the Classico zone), will be the best quality and age-worthy Soaves. These are often 100% Garganega.