Winery & Vintage Info
Coming from the commune of Ronca in the heart of Garganega country, Monte Ronca is a creation of local specialist, Antonio Fattori, an acknowledged Soave-master. All the fruit for both wines comes from the hills to the north of this commune, a specific site called Monte Calvarina, which peaks at 680m (the inactive volcano from which the wine takes its name). At this altitude, this beautiful cool site provides a perfect environment for a higher grade, single-site Soave. The hills around Monte Calvarina (in comparative terms to the region in general) are particularly steep, and from a viticultural perspective, pose some issues. But to Antonio, this is critical to capture depth of flavour and structure, as the best expressions of Soave are never found on the valley floor where it gets too warm. Here, the ancient volcanic soils impart a flinty minerality to the hand-harvested fruit, while in the cellar, lees stirring and subtle oak aging and varying levels of appassimento add a rich texture and further complexity to the wine.
Monte Ronca produces two wines: Calvarina Soave is the lighter of the two, but still shows great definition with refreshing chiselled notes complemented with stone fruits and nuts. The Gardellino spends a little over 4 weeks’ rack drying before vinification, with some batonnage. Deeper in colour, Gardellino is a powerful expression of Garganega with almost dessert wine traits – honey, papaya, peach on the nose with continuing exotic fruits, citrus framed with a subtle spine of acid. Winery Notes
