Few wine names have fallen and risen so far. In the post-war decades Soave became a byword for anonymous cheap Italian white, mass-produced on the Veneto flatlands; yet on the volcanic hills of Soave Classico, from old-vine Garganega, it is one of Italy's most underrated fine whites — textured, savoury and quietly ageworthy.
The best wines trade obvious fruit for almond, chamomile and a stony, mineral depth, and can improve for a decade. The name still carries the baggage of the bulk era, which is precisely why serious Soave remains one of the wine world's genuine bargains.