Tamellini Soave DOC 2009

Many parts of northern Italy experienced withering heat in 2009, but Soave seemed unaffected. In fact, Tamellini fashioned another outstanding DOC Soave in 2009, a wine that sports a sprightly robe, replete with a glint of the rising sun at its center and a tinge of gold. It may turn out to be Tamellini’s finest effort to date. Moreover, it offers a beguiling nose, a soft supple texture, and a satisfying finish. Reminiscent of France’s Pouilly-Fuissé, the 2009 Tamellini Soave personifies elegance, breed, and plain good, old-fashioned drinking pleasure. Its bouquet offers a gratifying combination of orchard fruits, acacia blossoms, and fresh picked almonds. And on the palate, Lake Garda’s subtle minerality shines through (Soave borders this majestic alpine lake) and melds with the wine’s elegant, textured fruit. When served cool, Tamellini’s Soave slakes the thirst like the mineral rich waters of a glacial stream. In short, we suggest keeping an extra bottle or two of Gaetano’s Soave on hand – to avoid coming to blows when the first bottle runs dry. We suggest serving the 2009 Tamellini Soave moderately chilled (40º-45º F).

Year in and year out, Tamellini’s Soave provides the perfect opening act to parties and intimate gatherings. In fact, the 2009 Tamellini Soave makes for an extraordinary aperitif; it cleanses and enlivens the palate as it amplifies the senses for the next great gustatory quaff. Moreover, the sophisticated 2009 Tamellini Soave provides plenty of pleasure, with and without food. It joyfully accompanies nearly all kinds of white fish, scallops, shrimp, hors d’oeuvres, caviar, and even smoked salmon and trout. It provides superb companionship to chicken, pork, pasta, and risotto, too. A simple mushroom and cheese risotto in the company of Tamellini Soave can truly make one’s day. The only caveat when pairing estate bottled Soave with food is that it is best to avoid heavy tomato sauces, raw garlic, and piquant spices when choosing companionship for this superlative white wine, as those condiments tend to obscure the delicate charm, freshness, and personality of authentic Soave. Consequently, a platter of mild goat or cow’s milk cheeses, served with apples, pears, and freshly baked bread, may offer the perfect accompaniment to Tamellini’s handicraft. Enjoy!

The wines of Soave have never been better. However, in spite of Soave’s recent meteoric rise in quality and availability, only a few dozen growers estate-bottle Soave. This comes as a shock to consumers and critics, alike, especially when one considers that Soave is the largest white wine-producing DOC in Italy. Most Soave growers still provide grapes or bulk juice to be blended into any number of pleasant but innocuous brands of Soave that a few large commercial ventures, whose only current claim to fame is that they have become household names, churn out by the truckload. For many years Gaetano Tamellini was one of those nameless, faceless suppliers, whose superlative Garganega and Trebbiano grapes were sold to the massive Soave Cooperative to be ground down into the lowest common denominator, despite the consistent, superlative quality of fruit from his prime hillside sites. Today, Tamellini can claim to be one of Soave’s premier estates as its wines constitute the DOC’s finest production. With the assistance of Paolo Caciorgna, one of Italy’s most accomplished white wine makers, Gaetano and his brother Pio Francesco took a leap of faith in 1998 and began estate bottling their Soave, including two exquisite single vineyard offerings, Anguane and Le Bine. Each of these ancient vineyard sites expresses the blithe, elegant spirit of true Soave in its own unique way. Tamellini Soaves are the kinds of white wines that originally made Soave famous years ago, when writers and cognoscenti alike sang the praises of the Veneto’s most enjoyable white wine. Until recently, the Tamellini brothers would fashion at least three distinct Soave wines: Anguane, Le Bine, and the zone’s most pleasurable Soave DOC. However, Anguane is a very old vineyard that now requires replanting, so with the exception of a miniscule amount of Le Bine, all of the estate’s finest grapes presently go into Tamellini’s Soave DOC, putting it into a class by itself. Tamellini’s Soave DOC demonstrates such expressive flavors, purity and precision that it has affectionately been dubbed “the Pouilly-Fuissé of Soave."