Soave Wine: Anselmi Capitel Croce 2007

It’s been dreadfully cold around here the last few weeks and consequently we have pretty much stayed put. No fun adventures to write about but lots of homemade dinners and new wines tasted. I would like to talk about one which particularly stood out for many reasons: Anselmi Capitel Croce 2007. 

I mistakenly called it “Soave” on twitter like it was sold to me in the store. However, I was quickly corrected by my wine buddies who told me that you can not technically call it by this name. Actually I don’t even like saying Soave anyway because the song Ricooooo Ricooooo Soaveeeee immediately gets stuck in my head! Besides being an awful song, this name has become symbolic of a type of person which The Urban Dictionary defines as:

“Latin lover type with greesed hair, gold chains, flowing shirt, the whole bit. Said person usually has largely inflated ego and a slight lisp.”

When you think about it, we can actually attribute this definition to the preconceived notion about the wine Soave. Unfortunately in the 1970’s this wine (made from garganega and trebbiano grapes) was mass produced into bland, cheap “superficial” jug wine. The territory was expanded and regulations were scarce. Just like a Rico Suave, perhaps branding and a one-dimensional character had more of an impact at the time.

Alright, so I’ll get to my point. The owner/winemaker Roberto Anselmi wanted to change people’s impression of this commercial Soave and take the necessary steps to creating a wine which lived up to its full potential. In fact, he even decided to forego the DOC(G) status in order to have more flexibility and freedom, therefore giving it the IGT wine status. By doing this, Anselmi proved that sometimes DOC(G) does not necessarily guarantee you quality. The debate on this subject is endless but I must say that I admire a guy who can take a stand for what he believes in and did what was necessary, though perhaps unpopular, to make the best wine he could. This is why, in spite of the winery being located in the small Soave Classico DOC zone of Monteforte d’Alpone, it can not technically be called “Soave”.

So let’s get back to the wine that started all this mess! Anselmi’s Capitel Croce is made from 100% Garganega, aged for 8 months in used barriques and further matured in the bottle for 9 months. It was a beautiful brilliant gold, incredibly aromatic, juicy and mouth-filling. I smelled melony aromas and tropical fruits like papaya. It even changed dramatically with every different ingredient we ate and despite being rich on the palate it had surprisingly refreshing acidity. Anselmi’s Capitel Croce was full of flavor and personality and at about 14 Euros it was well worth it. So whether we can call it Soave or not, this particular wine has stimulated a new interest in trying the growing number of quality exemplars of Soave. Drink on!