The first day of the Soave Preview featured an interesting selection of Soave grand cru in a tasting led by Sarah Abbott MW and Italian wine journalist Alessandro Brizi.
Interesting examples of both young and aged Soave, which show the influence of terroir and the power of ageing of the garganega grape. The tasting, which took place in the historic Palazzo Del Capitano, included 12 wines with different profiles and terroirs, ranging – in my humble opinion- from good to excellent. Let’s do a recap of the tasting!
1) VICENTINI-
Soave Superiore DOCG “Il Casale” 2015.
Some reductive notes on the nose. In the mouth, it is fresh, sapid with dominant citrus notes. Easy Drinking. Good.
2) CORTE ADAMI –
Soave DOC “Vigna Della Corte”, 2016.
Source: corteadadami.it
In the nose, peach and apricot notes (typical of garganega), in the mouth more citrus and grapefruit. Good.
3) COFFELE –
Soave DOC Classico “Ca’ Visco” 2002.
A good example of how garganega can age well. Golden yellow colour, in the nose saffron and vanilla, a refreshing mouthfeel with high acidity, despite its age. Finish with an almond note. Very good.
Vinified with semi-dried grapes. Notes of apricot and saffron, in the mouth similar to the nose with also notes of citrus. Sapid. Good.
5) CANTINA DEL CASTELLO
Soave DOC Classico “Carniga” 2011.
From calcareous rocks. In the nose, some ripe fruits as yellow peach. In the mouth, fresh, smoky, mineral, with notes of stone fruits and camomille.
Excellent! My favourite of the tasting for its complexity.
From volcanic soil. In the nose, ripe stone fruits and marzipan. In the mouth predominant almonds and stone fruits aromas. Mineral. Good.
7) GIANNI TESSARI –
Soave DOC Classico “Pigno” 2015.
Complex nose, with notes of citrus (orange, lemon) and mint in a second smell. High acidity, fresh and very long in the mouth. Very Good.
8) BERTANI-
Soave DOC “Sereole” 2005.
Golden yellow with amber hues. Smoky and barbecue notes in the nose. In the mouth, predominantly smoky, with less evident primary fruit notes. Good (and interesting).
9) CANTINA DI MONTEFORTE –
Soave Superiore DOCG Classico “Castellaro”, 2013.
Aged in stainless still and barrique. Golden colour. Nose with camomille and white flower notes. In the mouth, it shows aromas of white peach and vanilla. Good.
10) LE MANDOLARE –
Soave DOC Classico “Monte Sella”, 2013.
Aged for 12 months, it has an interesting of camomille, stone fruits and white chocolate notes. Fresh and easy drinking. Good.
11) I STEFANINI
Soave Superiore DOCG “Monte di Fice”, 2016.
Straw yellow in colour. It has a remarkable note of william pear in the nose. In the mouth, notes of citrus and white peach. Good (Note: Stefanini”Il Selese”2016, which I tried earlier with colleagues, is excellent: sapid, almost salty, with white flower, citrus and stone fruits notes. Extremely fresh and long in the mouth.)
12) FATTORI
Soave DOC “Motto Piane” 2015.
Straw yellow, with golden hues. In the nose white peach and pear. In the mouth, nice array of herbal notes, marzipan and acacia honey. Complex. Very good.
Cheers! Stay tuned for the second part, which will include wines made with the pergola system and volcanic wines chosen by John Szabo MS.
