Winemaker Notes
The wine is bursting with aromas of fresh fruit – apricot, peach, crisp golden apple – as well as dried camomile and white flowers. The mineral notes give the wine elegance and finesse. On the palate the wine is smooth and round making it easy drinking and persistent.
This wine pairs excellently with raw fish dishes, oysters and lobster. Pasta al pesto genovese or white meat dishes pairs as well. It pairs well with cheeses with delicate and sweet finish.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Soave Classico Staforte entices with a complex bouquet that blends exotic florals and tropical citrus with crushed green apples and hints of mint. Silky smooth yet vividly fresh, this cascades across the palate with crunchy orchard fruits and mineral tones propelled by brilliant acidity. It finishes with tremendous length, perfumed and energetic, leaving a lemony concentration that slowly fades. While already pleasurable, the 2021 Staforte is built for medium-term cellaring.
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James Suckling
White peach and peach skin aromas follow through to a medium-bodied palate with crushed-stone minerals on the mid-palate. Crisp, fruity and mineral finish with decent length. From organically grown grapes.
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Wine Spectator
A bright, zesty white, with lively hints of grapefruit zest and milled white pepper accenting peach, lentil and mineral notes. Lingering, creamy 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.