Tedeschi Soave Capitel Tenda Classico 2008
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Other Vintages
2010-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
Nicolò Tedeschi founded the company that bears his name in the Valpolicella area in 1824. He was a genuine personality of his time, renowned for his skill and moral stature. Throughout the years, his family has continued the traditional wine-making process, and today, the winery is owned by the fifth generation of Tedeschis: Antonietta, Sabrina and Riccardo. Each has various responsibilities, but it is Riccardo, the oenologist, who deals with production and acts as Tedeschi's Export Director.
Tedeschi utilizes two traditional winemaking techniques almost as old as winemaking itself. Amarone della Valpolicella is the only mainstream style where the wines are fermented to dryness, yielding deeply colored and concentrated wines, rich in character, and often rich in alcohol, too. The ripasso method, utilizing the drained but unpressed must of an Amarone, provides some kick to a more basic wine and is also unique to the region.
Each of Tedeschi’s wines must not only be as good as possible, but also as personal as it can be. Each has its own style and a clearly distinguishable character—the genuine “Tedeschi Trademark.” In order to achieve this objective, the family monitors every phase of the wine-making process, from the vineyard to the cellar, without ever trying to substitute nature or its laws in any way.
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.