Le Battistelle 'Battistelle' Soave Classico 2023

Gelmino and Cristina Dal Bosco's predecessors spent generations selling their grapes to the local co-op, before finally deciding, in 2002, to bottle their own wine. Their vineyards are scattered across the steep, volcanic hills of Brognoligo, in the heart of Soave Classico, a tiny, hallowed slice of the appellation that takes pride in what they call heroic viticulture. Not because it's dramatic or romantic, but because it's genuinely, physically punishing.

This wine comes from the Battistelle vineyard, their crown jewel. It's so steep that nothing can be mechanized. Everything is done by hand, on terraces held together by ancient dry-stone walls built from the same heavy volcanic rocks the vines sink their roots into. The pergolas are old. The work is slow. The labour costs are, as you'd imagine, significant. And the wine? The wine is worth it.

It's 100% Garganega, fermented in stainless steel and left on its fine lees for six to eight months with regular batonnage. That lees work gives it a soft, rounded texture that balances the electric minerality from the volcanic soils. It smells like white flowers, citrus, marzipan, and wild herbs. Structured, long, with that smoky volcanic grip that makes Soave from these hills completely unmistakable.