Fasoli Gino Pieve Vecchia 2021

Fasoli Gino is a fourth-generation organic estate in the hills east of Verona, and Pieve Vecchia is their top white, made from Garganega, the grape behind Soave. This is a riper, more serious style than everyday Veronese white, and at fourteen and a half per cent it has real weight. Twelve months on the lees is central to the wine: keeping it in contact with spent yeast cells, which slowly break down and release mannoproteins, builds a broad, savoury texture and adds a subtle almond and honeyed depth without any oak. Garganega naturally leans towards ripe stonefruit and a faint bitter-almond note on the finish, both to the fore here. The wine is deep straw in the glass, with white peach, apricot and melon on the nose, backed by almond, beeswax and honey. The palate is full and dry, with ripe orchard fruit and citrus peel carried on measured acidity to a long, savoury close. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees in a white Burgundy glass.