Pieropan La Rocca Soave Classico DOC

The grapes for this wine were hand harvested and selected in the vineyard, before arriving at the winery to be destemmed and crushed. After a short period of maceration on the skins, the wine was fermented at 20°C in stainless steel tanks and 2,500 litre oak casks. It was then racked into 500 and 2,000 litre oak casks where it was aged for 15 months on its fine lees, followed by further ageing in bottle before release.

Pieropan's estate covers 35 hectares of vineyard, all of which are situated on the stony hills of Soave Classico. The Pieropan family has been producing wines in Soave since the 1890s. Indeed, they were the first producer to bottle a wine with the name Soave on the label in the early 1930s. Nino Pieropan took over from his father in 1970 and was the first producer in Soave to make a single vineyard wine, 'Calvarino', in 1971. Nino's two sons, Andrea and Dario, now work with him running the estate.

In 1999, the Pieropan family bought a property in Cellore d'Illasi, in the Valpolicella and Amarone production area, where today they have eight hectares under vine. Due to a recent change in legislation, Pieropan's Soave can now be labelled as 'Classico' and sealed under Stelvin. The wine has never been better. It is scented and beautifully defined, with hints of honeysuckle and almond on the finish. They make two single vineyard wines: 'Calvarino', owned by the family since 1901, is on the classic volcanic basalt of Soave Classico; while 'La Rocca' is situated on the only limestone outcrop in the zone. The former is unoaked and minerally and reminiscent of good Chablis, while the latter, fermented in 500 litre barrels, is rich and opulent..