Most people have written off Soave entirely. That’s understandable. For decades the name meant cheap, thin Italian white wine — the kind of thing that ends up in a carafe at a red-checkered-tablecloth restaurant without anyone asking for it by name. A lot of Soave still is that. But the category has a ceiling most drinkers have never seen, and the 2023 Pieropan La Rocca is about as close to that ceiling as it gets.
The Pieropan family has been making wine in Soave since 1890. The fourth generation runs things now, and their La Rocca bottling — named for the single five-hectare vineyard it comes from on the slopes of Monte Rocchetta — has been one of the benchmarks of Italian white wine since its first release in 1978. The vineyard is farmed organically, the soils are limestone-rich clay, and the grape is 100 percent Garganega.
Garganega is an ancient Italian variety that most wine drinkers have never thought much about. That’s a mistake. On a site like La Rocca, it produces something rich and layered — stone fruit, preserved lemon, toasted almond, a faint honeyed warmth from late-harvested grapes — without ever tipping into sweetness. The wine spends about 15 months in French and Slavonian oak, which builds texture and depth while keeping everything balanced.
The 2023 vintage has been pulling serious numbers. James Suckling gave it 98 points and named it Best Italian White Wine of 2025. Kerin O’Keefe at Wine Enthusiast landed at 95. Robert Parker’s team came in at 94-plus. For a wine in this price range, that critical consensus doesn’t happen often.
It retails around $48 to $50, which is a real value for what’s in the bottle. If you want to pair it with something, think seafood with a little richness — seared branzino, scallops, a cream pasta. It also holds up well on its own, the wine you open on a weeknight and finish before dinner is on the table.
Check Pogo’s or Spec’s for local availability, or run it through Wine-Searcher to find the closest bottle. Either way, find one. Soave doesn’t usually drink like this.
