Pieropan Calvarino Soave Classico 2020  £25.73

Pieropan Calvarino Soave Classico

Pieropan's estate covers 58 hectares of vineyard 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 singlevineyard wine, 'Calvarino', in 1971. Nino's two sons, Andrea and Dario, took over the running of the estate in 2017 when Nino fell ill and before he passed away in April 2018. From the 2015 vintage onwards, all Pieropan wines are organically certified.

The 2020 vintage experienced a rainy and humid autumn until mid -December followed by a rather harsh and dry winter. In spring, temperatures were typical of the period throughout June and July with low humidity. In August, both temperatures and humidity increased and subsequently, some hail significantly affected a lot of wine-growing areas and especially the city of Verona.

Luckily, Pieropan was not affected, but these weather conditions contributed to the delay of fruit ripening, especially in Valpolicella. Nonetheless, the 2020 vintage produced a very promising yield of excellent quality grapes which led to a fresh, saline and savoury Soave Classico. 

The `Calvarino` is pale straw yellow in colour, with youthful hues turning golden with age. On the nose, there are fresh, floral aromas with elderflower, lemon and cherry. The palate is dry, well balanced and elegant, with tremendous length and finesse.