Winemaker Notes
Makes an excellent partner to complex dishes, even with strong flavors particularly risottos such as porcini, or celery, squash and almond, salt cod and other fish including salmon, scallops and crab.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Soave Classico la Rocca (with 48,000 bottles made) is a wine that expands upon the idea of texture, more so than any other wine in its league. This is partially due to the warm vintage that naturally produces thick, luscious and creamy fruit nuances to begin with. This wine would pair easily with white meat or shellfish, especially if Indian or Moroccan spices are sprinkled over.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of ripe stone fruit, hazelnut and tropical fruit emerge on this savory, structured white. Refined and full of flavor, the palate doles out juicy yellow peach, apricot and a hint of ginger, while almond lingers on the long finish.
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Wine Spectator
Rich flavors of poached apricot and buttery pastry are layered with firm acidity and a streak of spicy minerality in this medium-bodied white, which is light-footed and racy, with a lasting, fragrant finish of lime blossom, fleur de sel and spice notes. Drink now through 2025.
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.