The 2024 Soave Classico Vin Soave is sweetly scented, mixing mint, chamomile and lime zest with green melon. soft-textured yet energetic, it washes across the palate with ripe orchard fruits and crisp mineral tones, leaving a lovely saline tinge.
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The walled city of Soave in the Veneto region is the source (and namesake) of one of the great classic Italian white wines. The town dates from Roman times, and so does the winemaking tradition. The Romans were big fans of minerally, floral wines like those of Soave. The Garganega grapes, that for many centuries have produced Soave wines, come mainly from vineyards in the hills that rise behind the town and march northwestward toward the eastern Valpolicella. This area is now known as Soave Classico and is still the source of the best wines of the denomination due to the hills’ volcanic soils.
Leaving Soave through the Porta Aquila—the north gate of the city’s 14th-century walls—a walk of a mile and a quarter (including a climb of about 500 feet) leads to the top of Mount Foscarino, a dormant volcano now covered with grapevines. In the 1960s, Giuseppe Inama began buying up small vineyard plots on this peak in the heart of the Soave Classico zone, and as a result, the Inama winery today owns most of the vineyards on Mount Foscarino. Giuseppe Inama saw the great potential of these old, traditional vineyards at a time when others were more intent on producing larger quantities in the plains for inexpensive exports. His son Stefano, who took over the winemaking duties in 1992, has continued to work tirelessly to realize the potential of these vineyards, working with some of the very best vineyard management consultants in the world to get Inama’s vineyards into the best possible shape.
Near the top of the hill is a large wooden platform with a 270-degree panoramic view to the south and east. To the right at a distance, it is easy to spot the crenellated walls and towers of Soave Castle as it keeps watch over the town. In the foreground are Inama’s tidy vigneti di Foscarino (Foscarino vineyards). And to the left, over the vineyards and across a broad valley, are a set of hills that are the home of Inama’s other project. These hills—the Colli Berici—are composed of iron-rich terra rossa, a soil type that is prized worldwide as being ideal for growing red winegrapes, and indeed this is where Inama gets its red wines.
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LOCATIONWINERY: San Bonifacio, Veneto VINEYARD: Soave (Verona province) and Colli Berici (Vicenza province), Veneto VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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SEPTEMBER 2025
Inama “Vin Soave” Soave DOC Classico 2024
![]() The 2024 Soave Classico Vin Soave is sweetly scented, mixing mint, chamomile and lime zest with green melon. soft-textured yet energetic, it washes across the palate with ripe orchard fruits and crisp mineral tones, leaving a lovely saline tinge. 95
OCTOBER 2024
Inama "I Palchi" Foscarino Soave Classico DOC 2021
![]() The moment the cork is pulled you know you are in for a ride. Opening with aromas of lemon blossom, lemon peel and lemon curd, you might think this is all the wine has got but you are quickly taken down another path where aromas of hazelnut, roasted apples, magnolia and the first hint of smoke emerge. As the wine hits the palate you are thrust into the vineyard and feel power of the land. Flavors of white peach, mixed citrus, wild herbs and honey lead the way for an explosion of minerality that snaps you back to the glass. This is a wine that will shine against any other in the world. Drink now–2050. 94
DECEMBER 2025
Inama “Foscarino” Soave DOC Classico 2023
![]() Smoky wine with sea weed, angelica and a riper, more exotic core of lemon leaves and mirabelles. Smooth, silky texture, light body and integrated, refreshing acidity with a hint of sulphur smoke in the finish. Drink now. 92
AUGUST 2025
Inama “Foscarino” Soave DOC Classico 2022
![]() Inama 2022 Soave Classico Foscarino offers aromas of Williams pear and peach nectar. This versatile white also has a spicy side with dustings of cumin and mustard seed. This release is a selection of fruit from across 20 ha of vines on volcanic soils in the UGA Foscarino. The wine is fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel, botte grande and neutral French barrique. 94
AUGUST 2025
Inama "I Palchi" Foscarino Soave Classico DOC 2022
![]() This is the top-end Garganega from the talented Inama family. It included the words "Grande Cuvée" in its name until the previous vintage made. The 2022 Soave Classico Foscarino I Palchi is a beautiful wine with a tight vein of crispness and lemony tartness that follows the wine from start to finish, giving it firmness and lasting staying power. There is ample textural fiber at the back, more than enough to make this wine feel important and multidimensional. This 17-hectare vineyard sits in basalt lava soils. The wine is partially fermented in oak (with 30% neutral and new barrique and 50% botte grande) and 20% in stainless steel. 95
AUGUST 2025
Inama "I Palchi" Foscarino Soave Classico DOC 2016
![]() Here's a special back vintage from Inama that is on the market now. The 2016 Soave Classico Vintage Collection is a beautiful wine with depth and complexity that flaunts the potential of Garganega, one of Italy's most important white wine grapes. This carries a medium-plus mouthfeel that is rich in glycerin and soft in texture. The bouquet shows stone fruit flavors with hints of flint and hydrocarbons. A hand selection of the best grapes is made from across 20 hectares of vines on basalt volcanic soils. The wine is partially fermented and aged in barrique before going into horizontal steel casks for five years to keep it free from oxygen and slow down its evolution. 92
SEPTEMBER 2025
Inama "Carbonare" Soave DOC Classico 2022
![]() The 2022 Soave Classico Carbonare mixes crushed rocks with lemon oil and nuances of nectarine. It opens with a pretty inner sweetness offset by juicy acidity, while saline mineral tones and ripe pit fruits swirl across its silken textures. The finish is long yet crisp, leaving candied citrus tones to resonate. 94
SEPTEMBER 2025
Inama “Foscarino” Soave DOC Classico 2023
![]() The 2023 Soave Classico Foscarino is youthfully coy, with a delicate blend of lime zest, sweet sage, crushed green apples and a subtle whiff of spice. It possesses a core of zesty acidity and depths of salty minerals, as well as a silken wave of nectarine and citrus that soothes the senses. The 2023 reverberates with tension, crisp and long, leaving a crunchy sensation and the palate completely reset for another salty sip. |
