Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Smoky and mineral, with candied lemons, white pepper, ferns and almonds. Medium-bodied, it shows elegant, refreshing acidity with a silky texture that flows into the long, mineral-driven finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is always one of my favorite wines from Pieropan. Fruit comes from an 8.5-hectare cru planted in 1971 on volcanic soils, and the wine is aged in cement vats for a prolonged 15 months. The organic 2023 Soave Classico Calvarino (made with 70% Garganega and 30% Trebbiano di Soave) is a real beauty, with textural heft and an especially silky approach that wraps smoothly over the palate. The bouquet is beautifully complex with hints of honey, apricot and poached apple. I love the intensity and the seamless quality of this mid-weight white. Salty mineral nuances fuel an elegant mouthfeel.
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Wine Spectator
A graceful white, with a broad feel as flavors of golden apple, persimmon and baked pineapple fruit expand on the palate. Finely knit and bright, with mouthwatering acidity and a zesty skein of anise and cardamom winding through the profile. A rich hint of chopped almond joins the minerally drive on the lasting, creamy finish. Garganega and Trebbiano.
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.