Garganega
75cl * 12% * Soave, Veneto
There's ten-a-penny Soave which tends to be rather neutral in flavour and then there's Stefano Inama's Soave, which, thanks to decades of study and research, is a revelation.
Soave’s revolution started when New Zealand started breaking onto the wine scene in the early 1990s. Three key Italian producers (Inama, Pieropan and Anselemi) realised that cold fermentation, as the Kiwis were using, transformed the Garganega grape. Anselemi has since moved out of the Soave appellation to produce some interesting blends with varieties not permitted in the Soave DOC, but we also stock Pieropan’s wines. At the same time these wineries moved from pergola training to more workable conventional trellising allowing greater control of the fruit.
Stefano Inama feels the key to making great Soave is “Working with old vines from the best plots” and this is one of the plots that dates back to when his father bought the vineyard in the 1950s.
The 2018 Soave was named “No1 Italian Wine” in the Wine Enthusiast Top 100 best buys of 2020.
Wildflower notes - camomile, gentle sage, iris and elderflower - give brightness to the succulent apricot and honeycoated palate.
Ideally serve at 8°C – 10°C (ie remove from the fridge about half an hour before serving). An 'everyday luxury,' as winemaker Stefano calls this, it is at home with anything dusted with Parmesan, in particular risotto and asparagus or white fish and sushi.