Pieropan Soave, Verona

For many years now, the world of wine has looked to Pieropan as a benchmark winery, expressing their fine appellation's ultimate quality. Owners Nino and Teresita Pieropan run it to the highest and strictest standards, with impassioned competence and a genuine love for their profession. Their profound commitment to the terroir and tradition of Soave is the Pieropan's family heritage, and the philosophy behind this operation. Another central issue for Nino Pieropan (who personally orchestrates the wine-making) is vineyard management: in his view, great wine starts in the vineyard. Through the years, Nino has, therefore, acquired prestigious hillside crus such as Calvarino and La Rocca, has employed increasingly innovative viticultural methods, and has effected intensive clonal research - safeguarding near-extinct varieties, exploring Garganega's potential to the full and consistently employing such methods as short pruning, green harvest and organic manuring. In the winery proper, quality criteria are just as strict. State-of-the-art equipment and wine-making creativity combine with the experience of past generations, offering a unique synthesis of old and new. Decanter's, April 1998 article, "The Centre of Attention" states... "There are two types of Soave: those produced on the vast tracts of flat land and those from Soave Classico. This latter wine is as different from simple Soave as silk from polyester. Soave Classico, in the province of Verona, is the tiny historic zone of production; it is limited to a few hillsides around the communes of Soave with the vineyards planted at around 250 metres above sea level on clayey-rocky soil of volcanic origin, which is often rich in potassium and phosphorous. Made mainly or solely from Garganega, with the DOC rules allowing up to 15% Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, and Trebbiano di Soave. Garganega grown on the right site, when viticultural techniques are tailored to the vine, and attention is paid to clonal selection, is capable of producing firmly structured wines which have precise, concentrated perfumes and flavours. On the nose and palate, one finds hints of pineapple, lychee, and other exotic fruits as well as softer elements of ripe pears and almonds. It is time consumers took another look at this potentially great wine." In Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, March/April 2008, Mr. Tanzer wrote... "Leonildo Pieropan is one of Italy's five or six best white wine producers, and his Soaves are benchmarks for the category. His passion for Soave is evident from his refusal to include Chardonnay in his wines, rightly believing that it masks the true character of Soave. Instead, he is one of the few to have really invested in Trebbiano di Soave, a high-quality but long overlooked member of the Trebbiano family which, depending on whom you believe, is either closely related or identical to Verdicchio. (To give you an idea of how things work in Italy, some other producers in the area have not been above planting Verdicchio directly, which is not at all the same thing-that is, when they aren't using the hapless Trebbiano Toscano instead). His '05s are the best of the vintage and remarkably successful. While the '06s, due out later in the year, are even better, he actually prefers his '04s."

Soave Classico 2007 DOC This is true Soave produced from grapes grown on hillside vineyards of the Soave Classico subappellation i.e. the heart of the Soave D.O.C. It is a blend of 90% Garganega and 10% Trebbiano di Soave, the high quality clone of Trebbiano. The soil is clayey-basaltic and volcanic in origin, conducive to a fine white Soave. Critics praise Pieropan's Soaves for their colour, structure, and flavour that result from low yields as well as minimum filtering and handling. The delicate nose is reminiscent of almond and cherry blossoms and lilies of the valley. Rich and full on the palate with mineral and herb complexity, it has excellent structure and good acidity and a pleasantly bitter finish. Fermented in glass-lined concrete vats and aged briefly in large botti, a hint of acacia is retained. Impressive for its concentration and complexity. "This is a classy, elegant Soave redolent of white peaches, smoke and earthiness. Made in a taut,focused style, it possesses excellent depth and lovely overall balance." 88 points, Wine Advocate, Aug 2007

Soave Classico "La Rocca" 2006 This vineyard takes its name from the adjacent Medieval castle and fortress ("La Rocca") dominating the little town of Soave, just east of Verona. The soil is volcanic in origin, with abundant microelements, calcareous/clayey in structure. The resultant wine is from 100% Garganega grapes, late-harvested so as to ensure maximum extract, and aged in oak barrels for one year. It is a characterful wine, reminiscent of exotic fruit and nuts on the nose, soft and persistent on the palate with hints of spice and vanilla. It evolves beautifully with time, achieving that rare balance of components, that harmony of flavours and bouquet, which is the hallmark of superior breeding. In the April 2008 edition of Decanter magazine, Pieropan's "La Rocca" was named as one of "Italy's 50 Greatest Ever Wines". The panel of international Italian wine experts was asked to list what they believe to be the top five wines of Italy, regardless of varietal, vintage, price or region. Simply, the greatest wines, year to year. When the polls ended, La Rocca was 13th overall and one of only four whites to receive multiple 'Top Five' votes. "There is Soave, and then there is Soave La Rocca, Pieropan's pioneering single-vineyard bottling made from 100% Garganega. According to Andrea Pieropan, the secret to its lush but refined version of the local classic is a combination of both soil and strict vineyard management. 'La Rocca's vineyard has limestone and clay soils, unusual in Soave, that give the wine its body and exotic fruitiness. To maximise ripening, grapes are late harvested - picking begins towards the end of October,' says Pieropan. Seeing such grapes still on the vine in November, many hungry wine tourists in Soave had begun to assume they could help themselves to the prized offerings, and the family has had to fence off its famed vineyard to ensure that production levels remain unaffected." Decanter, April 2008

Recioto di Soave "Le Colombare" 2003 500 mL This dessert wine is obtained from the shrivelled "recie" ("ears" in the Venetian dialect) of choice Garganega grapes - i.e. the top part of each bunch, with the ripest and best exposed berries. In early Spring, the semi-dried grapes are pressed, and fermented for months. The resulting wine is aged in oak barrels for two years. Intense gold, almost amber coloured, delicately reminiscent of exotic fruit and apricots on the nose, its initial impression on the palate is delicately sweet, a prelude to the pleasing and unexpectedly aromatic complexity. Excellent on its own or at the end of a meal.

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