Pieropan’s Enduring Brilliance in Soave
For over a century, the Pieropan family has defined Soave through unwavering excellence in the vineyard and cellar. Today, under the stewardship of the family’s next generation, the estate remains entirely family-owned, still farming its historic hillsides by hand, and still crafting the most profound, age-worthy expressions of Garganega ever bottled.
The two single-vineyard wines, Calvarino and La Rocca, are the twin pillars of Soave’s greatness. They are reference points not just for Veneto whites, but for all of Italy.
Calvarino, first bottled in 1971, comes from the estate’s oldest vines, rooted in black volcanic basalt. This soil gives the wine its piercing minerality, its fine tension, and that unmistakable shimmer of energy that runs from start to finish. It is taut and focused in youth, unfolding over time into layers of white flowers, lemon peel, almond, and crushed rock. Calvarino is the cerebral side of Soave; elegant and built to reward patience.
La Rocca, celebrating its 45th anniversary with the 2023 vintage, is grown just across the valley on a slope of chalky limestone, a rare soil in Soave and the key to its textural opulence. The limestone lends roundness and a silken mouthfeel, while fermentation and aging in large oak casks build complexity and tone. The result is a wine of astonishing grace: golden fruit, honey, and spice, underpinned by the same freshness that defines all of Pieropan’s work.
Though I hesitate to use the word “Burgundian” beyond Burgundy, there is no other way to describe these wines’ precision, depth, and ability to age. Over the decades, they develop with the same harmony and poise as the great whites of Meursault or Puligny, yet they remain entirely themselves, unmistakably Soave, and unmistakably Pieropan. I will also say that despite the score differences, I have always been personally partial to the Calvarino.
Collectors who have followed Pieropan know that these wines age effortlessly for 10–20 years, gaining complexity while retaining their crystalline structure. In the cellar, they belong beside the best whites of France and Germany..
94 Points, Wine Advocate
This is always one of my favorite wines from Pieropan. Fruit comes from an 8.5-hectare cru planted in 1971 on volcanic soils, and the wine is aged in cement vats for a prolonged 15 months. The organic 2023 Soave Classico Calvarino (made with 70% Garganega and 30% Trebbiano di Soave) is a real beauty, with textural heft and an especially silky approach that wraps smoothly over the palate. The bouquet is beautifully complex with hints of honey, apricot and poached apple. I love the intensity and the seamless quality of this mid-weight white. Salty mineral nuances fuel an elegant mouthfeel. Production is 60,000 bottles.
98 Points, James Suckling
Classy and sophisticated wine with toasty and stony aromas, together with lemon peel, oranges, quince and ferns. Medium-bodied yet weighty, with vibrant acidity balancing the strength. Long, silky finish of toast and white chocolate. Outstanding. Drink or hold.