Pieropan Soave Classico 2016
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Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pair with soups, vegetable-based starters, egg-based dishes and seafood. It is also an excellent aperitif.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Savory and fresh, this opens on alluring aromas of white flower, orchard fruit, citrus and a whiff of crushed rock while the palate offers creamy white peach, apple and lemon drop. A saline mineral note lingers on the finish.
Editors’ Choice -
Decanter
Perhaps the most famous Soave producer, this is the 50th vintage for Nino Pieropan, and is a blend of 85% Garganega and 15% Trebbiano di Soave. The vines are cultivated on clay-basalt volcanic soil, giving flinty aromas on the nose, combined with stone fruit flavours and a long lasting, intense, mineral finish.
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Tasting Panel
The blend of 85% Garganega and 15% Trebbiano di Soave from the family’s estate in the Soave Classico zone—and a low ABV of 12%—showcases Nino Pieropan’s 50th vintage and perhaps one of the label’s finest. The aromatics are exceptional, with flint-inspired apricot and lemon curd. The palate is crisp and clean, further enhancing stone fruit and minerality.
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Enclosed by the original town walls and dominated by its medieval fortress, Soave has a peaceful, timeless quality about it. In the heart of the old town is the winery of Leonildo and Teresita Pieropan, which goes back to 1860. The present Leonildo ("Nino")'s grandfather, Leonildo Senior, founded the estate and 'invented' Recioto di Soave, a concentrated dessert wine applying a system similar to Tuscany's governo to the indigenous, white Garganega grape.
Today, the estate's 74 acres under vine include three single vineyards, all within the historical backbone of the Soave appellation (Soave Classico): Calvarino, La Rocca and Le Colombare. Terrain is respectively clayey/basaltic, calcareous/clayey, and clayey/marly/tuffaceous, yielding small crops of highly concentrated Garganega and Trebbiano grapes. The range is crafted by Leonildo himself, whose wine-making genius, constant research and innovative methods have carved a unique niche for these exceptional, extract-full and long-living whites that go far, far beyond their own appellation.
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.