2023 Balestri Valda Soave Classico

100% Garganega from black basalt soils. Organic. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. Fresh, fruity and textured, this wine is unlike the usual bulk Soave we are accustomed to.
The key to this generosity and purity is organic viticulture and the lengths that Laura and Fede go to in caring for their vines. The wine is beautifully balanced - racy yet complete and detailed with plump stone fruits and blossom for character.

"The 2022 Soave Classico Biologico wafts up with a delicate bouquet as orange zest and wildflowers give way to freshly sliced pear and wet stone. It sweeps across the palate, energetic and full of mineral tension, displaying ripe orchard fruits and pretty inner florals. This finishes with medium length and a salty flourish that lingers on." - Eric Guido, Vinous

Balestri Valda’s vineyards are situated within a large volcanic/tectonic basin delimited to the West by the tectonic line of Castelvero and to the East by the Schio-Vicenza line.

There is a close relationship between basalt soils and the rich flavors and balance that are to be found in the wines that come from them.

Basalts are volcanic rocks that were formed by successive series of eruptions that went on for three geological cycles, all of them in a sub-marine environment. These eruptions gave rise to volcanoclastic products of colors varying from gray to yellow and reddish, depending on their area of formation and degree of oxidation. The action of external agents then had varied effects on the different volcanic substrata, contributing towards a re-modelling of the landscape and thus creating its modern-day appearance.

Basalts, which are poor in silicon and rich in magnesium and iron, tend to absorb between 85% and 99% of the phosphates added to these rocks. Consequently, any periodic fertilization should be reduced considerably in terms of frequency, also owing to these rocks’ strong draining capacities.

But in our soils there is not only basalt; this black stone is in fact mixed with white limestone, creating an amalgam of minerals from which the vines are able to benefit.

The limestone deposits are what is left of ancient sea beds; these sediments rich in calcium carbonate, depositing themselves at the bottom of the sea, trapped animals and shells, which we can still find today in fossils of very curious and varied kinds.