Soave

One of my favorite white wines of Italy.  This is their basic Soave and while not at the level of the vineyard designated wines, this is still very good and a very good value.  It is a blend of 85% Garganega and 15% Trebbiano di Soave.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has peaches, lots of minerality, salinity, and lemon peel.  Medium bodied.  Crisp, but with some viscosity.  Medium acidity.  On the palate, its more about the minerality although there is some peach.  Easy.  This would work well with Indian cuisine.  Drink over the next few years.   

Fattori began making wine in 1900 in this Northeastern region of Italy. Now, as a 5th generation run operation, they are turning out wonderful wines. Made from 85% Corvina along with Rondinella, Molinara and a few other varieties, this offers light, bright cherry, black cherry, pomegranate, rhubarb and plum notes. This fairly simple wine is an ideal companion with a diversity of foods. It’s not an aggressive, heavy tannic thing, but a mellow, warm and delightful wine meant to work well with others. Briefly aged, the fruit is perky and beaming.

The name Soave doesn't normally conjure up thoughts of a long lived white wine with depth, but for this producer and especially the vineyard designated wines, it should.  This is golden in color with just a hint of copper coloring.  The nose is nice with baked apples and stony minerality.  Perhaps just a touch of orange peel.  On the palate, this has a creamy texture.  A nice backbone of acidity.  Depth and complexity.  Layers of pears, orange/citrus and minerals.  Long finish.  This will work great with all kinds of seafood, veggies or fowl.  This is mature and won't get better (based on t

It was nice to try this blind, having tried it a couple of weeks ago.  There was some bottle variation for whatever reason.  This one had a deeper gold hue to it.  The nose was more mineral driven and less fruit with a crushed sea shell quality to it.  On the palate, this is dry with good acidity.  A bit of orange pith which wa quite nice.  In general it seemed a bit more advanced, but then with some air as it sat in the glass, it seemed to get a second life.  Some honey came out on the palate.  It got a bit more energy but that great minerality was still there.  This bottle had apparently

Pieropan makes some amazing Soave wine from the Garganega grape.  This one is dry and works quite well at the table.  Light golden in color.  The nose has slight under ripe peach, some honey and a bit of spice.  On the palate, this is dry.  Crisp acidity.  Peaches and honey carry thru but more about the minerality.  Nice texture.  Drank over two days without any change.  Has a decade left easy.  

Some wine regions get a but of short shrift.  How great can a Soave be?  Isn't it just a simple white wine?  Well, truth be told, they can be outstanding.  And this one is.  Golden in color.  The nose is great with melons and peaches but also a crisp minerality that while not at the forefront, gives great structure to the aromas.  On the palate, this is almost seamless.  How can that be?  That descriptor usually comes into play for wines well above the $100 mark.  Lots of minerality.  Not sweet but almost sweet; probably just under the threshold.  Some peach and melon.  Nice finish.  Drinki

Deep golden in color, starting to show some oxidation.  The nose also shows it but still there is some honey quality.  On the palate, this  is slightly sweet.  Past prime but still with some life to give.  Honey and slight peach fruits.  A bit of acidity.  A nice finish to a meal.