Browse Tag

soave

Hagia Sofia

Santa Sofia 2006 Soave Classico Montefoscarino (Veneto) – Clear and light, with a perfumed nose that veers a little too close to grandmother-ish bath soap for my tastes. The core is also a little watery. It’s pleasant, and it washes down a wide range of foods with unobtrusive aplomb, but it makes no clear statement of its own. Not even a whispered one. (10/07)

Capitel building

Anselmi 2004 Capitel Foscarino (Veneto) – Sulfurous and tight, but pretty nonetheless. Grapey, with lovely, floral fruit. The finish is short, and has some dry botrytis-like characteristics. Overall, the effect is a little odd. What’s going on at this property? (2/08)

Capitel idea

Anselmi 2003 Capitel Croce (Veneto) – Dry lemongrass, lime leaves. Very, very ripe, but carrying good acidity, which renders it sharp and clean. An excellent effort from this bizarre vintage. (2/07)

San clause

Anselmi 2005 San Vincenzo (Veneto) – Clean and fresh, showing lemon and crisp Golden Delicious apple. Summery and pretty. (2/07)

Rico

[bottle]ca’Rugate 2005 Soave Classico San Michele (Veneto) – Delicate and lightly herbal, showing sun and air and a mild, lemony character, but not a whole lot else. It’s perfectly fine, it’s just…eh. (8/07)

The full Monte

[bottle]ca’Rugate 2005 Soave Classico Monte Fiorentine (Veneto) – While this is not entirely unlike the San Michele, there’s a clean bell-tone of fennel and fruit in the middle, plus a rounded, polished mineral core, that gives this wine the clear advantage over its brother. It’s no Pieropan (or Anselmi), but it’s a good wine in its own right. (8/07)

Perlara before swine

[bottle]ca’Rugate 2002 Recioto di Soave “La Perlara” (Veneto) – Rich spice in concentrated lemon and orange, pairing intensity and purity, yet sacrificing no lusciousness. There is a very slight thinning vs. a few years ago, but that could be attributable to bottle variation rather than age. (7/07)

TN: Training Prà

[label]Prà 2002 Soave Classico (Veneto) – Showing signs of maturity, as the softly perfumed fruit is stripped away in layers to reveal the soft, mineralized underbelly shot through with streaks of vivacious acidity. It’s not an aggressive wine by any means, but it’s both fuller and sharper than at release. This is at full maturity. (7/07)

TN: Pieropan and Tinkerbell

[vineyard]Pieropan 2001 Recioto di Soave Classico Le Colombare (Veneto) – Pecan, orange rind and sweet apple cider with tons of nutmeg-and-clove spice, plus fantastic acidity. A wine so delicious one wants to laugh out loud, just for the sheer joy of it. (12/06)