Winemaker Notes
Best served with delicate fish-based dishes, truffle or mushroom risottos, and medium flavored cheeses as well as a variety of vegetarian dishes.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
From straight Garganega grapes. Orchard fruit, roasted chestnuts, tangerines and dried hay. There is something white Rhone-like about this, attesting to the warmth of the vintage. A richer Soave. Pith and chewy. A rail of penolics directs impressive length, with dutiful acidity beyond. From organically grown grapes.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In a screw-cap bottle with a black label, the Suavia 2020 Soave Classico Monte Carbonare (a certified-organic wine) shows an intense and very beautiful bouquet with stone fruit, some exotic papaya and crushed stone. Made only in stainless steel, the wine opens to a creamy, waxy texture that wraps smoothly over the palate. This is one of the standout wines of the appellation (with 40,000 bottles made).
-
Wine Spectator
Silky and mouthwatering, this well-honed white expands on the palate with rich flavors of pineapple, blood orange granita, clover honey and lime blossoms, while remaining graceful and focused throughout. Delivers delicate spice and mineral notes on the long 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.