£15.88, Justerini & Brooks
Good Soave, which usually means Classico, often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves as one of the most food-friendly of dry whites and, equally, as a wine that has cellaring potential. You can blame it on cheap, bland Soaves that have tarnished the name over decades, but it doesn't help when people like me recommend the same handful of favourite producers time after time.
But not this week. I’m delighted to put a long overdue spotlight on the Gini family. And I mean long. They’ve been growing vines in Monteforte d’Alpone since the 16th century, making them among the oldest growers in the Soave Classico area.
They have vineyards in two of Soave’s Grands Crus, from which they make single-vineyard wines, but this is their flagship blended Classico – and it’s not only delicious but good value. Like their other Soaves, it’s made entirely from the superior Garganega grape variety, grown organically, and produced using low levels of sulphur.
The streamlined purity and integrity are matched by a seamless texture that you don’t necessarily expect at this level and by aromas of lemon zest, blossom and almond that lead into mouthwatering flavours of salty preserved lemon, sourdough and light crème fraiche.
It makes a reviving aperitif, but goes well with peas and beans and other spring/summer vegetables, dishes with burrata and ricotta, pasta sauced with cream, eggs, herbs, vegetables or lemon zest, risotto and risi e bisi, crab tart and other quiches, seafood in general and salads, including with hot-smoked salmon or prosciutto. 12%. Empty bottle weight: 551g.
Gini Soave Classico 2020, Veneto, Italy
£15.88, Justerini & Brooks