Le Battistelle
Volcanic Soave Classico from steep hillside vineyards above Monteforte d'Alpone — three cuvées of Garganega, no wood, and a cult following on our shelves.
Soave and Soave Classico are not the same thing. Soave comes from the flatlands; Classico from the slopes of an extinct volcano, and that is where Gelmino and Cristina Dal Bosco farm. The Battistelle vineyards are high, steep and hard to work; the family sold grapes for years before bottling their own wine from 2002, and it has been a quiet sensation ever since — Vinous singles the estate out for its floral aromatics, mineral intensity and verve.
Everything is Garganega and everything is made in stainless steel. "Montesei" is the entry, the volcanic signature in its freshest form. "Battistelle" comes from the steepest south-west-facing slope, basalt alternating with tufo. "Roccolo del Durlo" is the old-vine cru — vines of a hundred years and more on dark, iron-laden soil the family calls Le Carbonare.