Winemaker Notes
Brilliant and intense yellow whit golden hints. A characterful wine, with notes reminiscent of exotic fruit and nuts on the nose; soft and persistent on the palate, with hints of spice, length and elegance.
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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James Suckling
A different, fuller-weighted brood, boasting ample stone fruits, nutmeg and truffle. Savvy use of oak (tonneaux and larger format French) and extended lees ageing. A vineyard purchased in 1976, situated directly behind the town's castle. Lower altitude, with clay and limestone (rather than the more pervasive volcanics), finding effortless confluence with a winemaking approach that has long-defined this fuller-weighted, late-harvested, highly textural expression. While an outlier stylistically, there is often a fleck of botrytis, all tamarind and dried mango, that melds with the underlying tension to impart generosity and evince authority.
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Wine Enthusiast
Rich yet linear, it is a wine of such profound balance that it can weaken the knees. The 2021 opens with rich and golden apples, honeysuckle, roasted hazelnuts and fresh clover honey. As the wine develops, the minerality shines and brings more nuance to the wine. The palate is textured, layered and so well-structured that you might forget that this is wine, not art. Apricots, baked pear and sweet spices drive the palate toward that mineral edge on the finish.
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Wine Spectator
A statuesque white, with up-front generosity to the flavors of poached quince, baked pineapple and grilled macadamia nut, which are nicely reined in by well-integrated acidity and a sense of verticality. Fragrant, with notes of honeysuckle and lime blossoms enriched by hints of spun honey and saffron, this is long and lovely.
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.