Vineyards & Wines

SOAVE SUPERIORE DOCG

Here is the new profile for Soave Superiore DOCG: The grape mix remain the same as the historical Soave, with at least 70% Garganega and permitted addition of up to 30 % Trebbiano di Soave, Chardonnay, and Pinot Bianco. Trebbiano Toscano has been excluded from the blend. (Before up to a maximum of 15 % of this variety was allowed.)

The production zone is limited to the hillside sites already noted in the regulations for the production of Recioto di Soave DOCG. There are also new regulations for planting: new vineyards must be trained using Espallier systems (Guyot and Cordon Spur) with at least 4000 vine per hectare. For those vines planted before 2002, the Espallier system, Pergola Inclinate and Pergoletta Veronese (mono or bilateral) are allowed.
The yield has also been reduced to 70 hectolitres per hectare, and the bottled wine must have a minimum alcohol level of 12 degrees by vol. (12.5 by vol. for the Riserva style), and it must have a minimum extract of 20 grams per litre.

Soave DOCG may be released on to the market only after 1st September of the year following the harvest and after bottle ageing of at least three months so as to emphasise characteristics of maturity and complexity. Wines aged a minimum of two years may be labelled as “Riserva”.
This is a new challenge for a Soave, which elevates it in a significant way beyond the realms of other DOCs (and particularly those of recent constitution, thereby re-claiming its position as a great Italian terroir-based white wine.
From this style one expects the very best expression imaginable of Soave made in stainless steel: not only freshness and a very easy-drinking style, therefore, but also exellent egeing potential – as much as ten years in good vintages.

A high-quality production zone is indispensable, as are decidedly wellcontrolled yields. This does not necessarily maen a drastic reduction in production, but rather that the wine should give a yield which is in perfect harmony with its hillside site and with its naturally vigorous disposition.
It is hard for a great white wine to be ready for drinking after only a few months, so another essencial factor is that the wine should remain on its lees for several months prior to bottling and release.

During this phase, the wine extracts and assimilates its true character from the lees. It becomes more stable, and may indeed also undergo malolactic fermentation, thus making its taste profile considerably more nuanced and interesting. Its colour will become intense, while at the same time maintaing the brilliance that a young white should display. Its aromas will also become deeper; their richness is not all that important because Garganega does not in fact posses a board spectrum of fragrances such as those of the great aromatic varieties.
This type of Soave is ideal with a very broad range of dishes. Here we are not merely limited to saltwater fish: we can branch out into the wider realms of Mediterranean cuisine, taking advantage of the mineral notes which this wine assumes over time to match it with dishes that combine vegetables and cheese, or indeed with eggs or white meats. This, then, is a fine and highly versatile style Soave.

 

SOAVE DOC

If the production regulations for the new Soave Superiore D.O.C.G. are also brand new, those for Soave D.O.C. (a denomination now 34 years old) have also undergone a careful restyling. A leading role is played by Soave Classico, which almost becomes a denomination in its own right, while for the hillside areas outside the historic zone, the name” Colli Scaligeri” has been coined.
The permitted grapes are the same as for the Soave Superiore D.O.C.G., placing new emphasis just on the quality varieties and excluding Trebbiano Toscano which, before, had been allowed to constitute up to 15% of the blend.
For the styles of Soave which must come from hillside sites, the minimum level of alcohol has also been raised by half a per cent and the dry extract has been increased to 18 grams/litre.
As from next year, new plantings may only be trained according to the following methods: single or double Espalier; single, unilateral Pergola; or uni- or bi-lateral small Veronese Pergola (pergoletta veronese). In every case, there must be no less than 3,300 vines per hectare.
For all three wines – Soave, Soave Classico and Soave Colli Scaligeri – the new, revised regulations have, therefore, raised two of the parameters that are most important for quality: the level of alcohol and the net dry extract.
This, then, is a new challenge for Soave, which is thus re-positioning itself significantly with regard to other D.O.C.s (particularly those of recent constitution) and reclaiming its role as one of Italy’s great terroir-based whites.
This challenge is based on new rules for the producers and greater clarity for the consumer.

Soave DOC
It’s designed to be drunk a year or two after the vintage. It is a user-friendly white, which offers good value for money: a wine from which one expects neither complexity nor ageing potential but rather a clean fragrance and an appealing freshness and delicacy. It is usually vinified in stainless steel, a method which allows the wine’s attractive floral and fruity notes to express themselves fully.

Soave Classico DOC
This is a more ambitious white, whose restricted production zone lies on the hills in the communes of Soave and Monteforte.
The wine’s firm structure gives it an excellent ageing potential: it can continue to evolue for as much as ten years in good vintages from top producers. It often has a slight mineral note on the palate that adds complexity to its floral and fruity character.
When vinified and/or aged in wood, Soave develops a creamy undertone which mingles with the fruity and floral elements.

Soave Spumante DOC
This sparkling wine with a modern and seducive taste, has maneged to preserved a rich noble title containing a long, important and antique tradition. It is typically of the versatility of the Garganega, the grape of the excellency of the Soave wine, able to give character and identity to such a wine. Perfect grapes bunches, selected yeasts, accurated vinifications, a long staying on the lees, are giving us a “Brut” with a fine and persistent “Perlage” as well as elegant and fragrant nose; a palate which shows harmonius style ideally to be served with “hors d’oeuvres” and for many moments of the party.
 

RECIOTO DI SOAVE DOCG ( go to the dedicated section )