Winemaker Notes
#6 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of the World 2025
Intense straw yellow, with golden nuances. Characterful wine. On the nose, reminiscent of exotic fruit, yellow peach and dry apricot, nuts and almond, sweet spices such as saffron, ginger powder, white pepper, honey and a light balsamicity. Warm, elegant, smooth and persistent on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Classy and sophisticated wine with toasty and stony aromas, together with lemon peel, oranges, quince and ferns. Medium-bodied yet weighty, with vibrant acidity balancing the strength. Long, silky finish of toast and white chocolate. Outstanding.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Celebrating its milestone 45th anniversary (1978–2023), the Pieropan 2023 Soave Classico La Rocca shines with golden intensity and offers a compelling bouquet that draws from both the character of Garganega and from careful oak aging. This 100% Garganega is aged in 500-liter French and Slavonian oak for 15 months. Varietal tones include stone fruit, preserved lemon and crushed oyster shell. Oak nuances of nutmeg and saffron add framing and depth. La Rocca is a five-hectare site with limestone soils, and 45,000 bottles were made. The Pieropan family knows its stuff. Happy anniversary.
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Wine Spectator
Enticing wafts of honey and broom accent rich flavors of baked pineapple, white peach puree, raw almond and masala chai in this sleek white, framed by mandarin orange peel–infused acidity. Lightly chalky in texture, with minerally notes of fleur de sel, stone and ash pushing through on the finish.
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.