Soave Seven, all a matter of style

On September 11 at Eataly in Verona comes Soave Seven, with wines 7 years after harvest, so go with 2016, accompanied by 2022. We had a pre-event for the press, and I guarantee you that Soave is a wine open to interpretation and a perfect blend of grape varieties, terroir and technique.

Soave Seven is preparing for a new edition with a pre-event dedicated to the press. To tell their stories, once again, will be the Soave Doc, classic - superior - wines from UGA, just have 7 years from harvest (note: UGAs become official in 2019). It is 2016 in fact the vintage that will be told this year alongside 2022, there will be no shortage of considerations on the (crazy) 2023 season during the event, organized by the Soave Wine Road. The event, open to the public, will be held on September 11 at Eataly Verona. A very rich walk around tasting and an emotional moment with the awarding of a special recognition to the memory of those who contributed to the birth and growth of the Veronese Doc territory. Doc where Garganega is the master, on flat or even extreme slopes, and the soils, both white and black, are ancient.

Having marked the date of Sept. 11 in the diary for the event open to the public, let's now take a look at Soave as a wine and understand together why it should/could be considered a long-lived wine with aging potential.

In my opinion, it's all about style. Backstep. Soave wine is universally recognized (with a few exceptions) as a ready-to-drink, inexpensive, simple and drinkable wine, whose characteristic over all is freshness rather than complexity. Yet, with proper care and by marrying techniques and certain approaches from the countryside to the cellar, this wine seems to be able to acquire the much sought-after complexity and turn into a product that is good today and exceptional over time. 

That Soave, even vintage, can surprise I learned during last Vinitaly, when at a tasting dedicated to wines from volcanic territories at the Consorzio di Tutela stand, I was in the company of a German importer friend. At the end of the tasting René thanked me enthusiastically for the shared experience (I had obliged him to come with me), because he would never have thought that Soave could be (his exact words) "such a good wine." Surprised, I asked him why, and the answer I feared came...for him it was the first-price Italian white on the shelves of Aldi in Germany, decidedly uninteresting. You can understand that he was starting at a great disadvantage and I, in moments, was even losing a friend! Instead.

What, then, can make a Soave a great wine and, with proper care, a long-lived white wine, I have wondered and asked myself, and it was thanks to the many tastings that producers make available to me that I began to draw some conclusions. The soil, okay... but honestly right now I'm more interested in what happens on top of it. Because during the last tastings the most interesting wines turned out to be those from old vines, those that had fermented and/or matured in wood, those corked with technical cork, those matured sur lie, those that alongside the Garganega also chose to have some other complementary grape variety. In short, all wines that have been thought out, studied and have a distinct style, not necessarily recognizable but decipherable. There is a big difference between being recognizable, I only recognize you if I have known you before, and being decipherable, I don't know you but I understand you and therefore I want to know you. Soave is therefore a wine open to interpretation and a perfect marriage of grape varieties, terroir and technique.

We are taught this by wineries like Inama, whose 2016 Capitel Foscarino was in perfect shape. Full-bodied and mouthwatering, it still amazed with a beautiful acidity on the palate in contrast, yet perfectly in harmony, with the fullness on the nose. Tenuta Sant'Antonio also always has something to tell with its 2011 Vecchie Vigne (...we went down a bit). A very complex wine that tells us all about its evolution, constant over time. Vecchie Vigne is certainly not in a hurry, it still smells of dried mint and the finish is long and persistent. Also interesting is Canoso's choice to add a dash of Incrocio Manzoni, enough to make a difference and make it interesting. All its mother, this grape variety is the child of the Rhine Riesling, the long-lived par excellence with that extraordinary ability to yield aromas over time. And then Fattori with Danieli 2016, screwcap and a Mediterranean scrub component that refreshed the toasted almond typical of Garganega evolution. How not to mention Pra, whose Staforte 2016, screwcap, almost stewed me because it is always good and academic, still smelled of yellow raspberry, peach, pear and grapefruit...I have nothing more to add. 

So does Soave Seven (but also eight, nine, ten...) convince us? I would say yes, as long as nothing is left to chance. This is confirmed by the names mentioned above who are, however, in very good company, you will find them all in Verona at Eataly on September 11 although in general I would advise you to take a trip to Soave, it is still the most beautiful Borgo in Italy!

I conclude with two fresh tastings...vintage 2022 that particularly impressed me (click on the name to read tasting notes).

• Ilatium Morini, Soave Campo le Calle 2022
• Agostino Vicentini, Soave Vigneto Terre Lunghe 2022

• Date: Monday September 11th 2023

• Where: Eataly Verona, Via Santa Teresa, 12 

• Hours: From 18.00 to 24

• Tickets: 25 euros per person https://www.eventbrite.it/e/biglietti-soave-seven-2023-643037411207?aff=ebdssbdestsearch.

The Soave Wine Route was founded in 1999 and now has about one hundred members divided into wineries, Bodies and Associations, Agritourism, Restaurants, Hotels, oil mills and local product companies. The Wine Route has always been active in coordinating the many members who are part within an ideal route of about 50 km along which it is possible to admire the landscape, visit wineries, taste wine, sample typical dishes and come into contact with the hospitality of the people.

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