2018 Suavia Monte Carbonare Soave Classico Veneto 750 ml

“Suavia” can refer to the ancient name for Soave, or to the winery that produces some of its most rapturous white wines. 

Either way, Suavia epitomizes the region.

There’s no better example of the winery’s mastery than their single-vineyard flagship Monte Carbonare—and the 2018 is perhaps their most complex and tantalizing rendition yet. It’s a “magisterial expression,” said Decanter, who loved the wine’s “rapier-like intensity,” awarding 96 points, matching the highest score they gave ANY wine from Italy’s Veneto region in 2018.

The word “carbonare” refers to coal, an apt description for Suavia’s Monte Carbonare vineyard, which features well drained, jet-black volcanic soils. The vines are planted on terraced hillsides, and for anyone who's spent time in celebrated wine regions, a mere glance at this exquisite site is enough to see the immense potential locked within. It’s world-class terroir.  

The Tessari family has held their elevated vineyards in the hills of Soave Classico for more than a century, and for several decades they’ve focused solely on two native varieties: Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave. Their quality renaissance began in the 1980s, when they began dramatically reducing their yields, eliciting a depth and complexity that’s unmatched by Soave from the surrounding, low-lying plains. 

Today, sisters Meri, Valentina, and Alessandra continue to raise the bar in Soave through careful farming practices and vineyard-management measures designed to ensure a healthy environment for the vines. 

The Tessaris produce bottles that the Wine Advocate calls “excellent and dynamic” and that Vinous has praised as “some of the denomination’s best.” 

This 2018 fits the bill and then some. It’s a stunning white wine that will continue revealing new, intriguing facets over the next few years.