Pieropan, Soave Classico (Veneto, Italy) 2022

 The price of this wine is enough to tell you that a fine Soave is still under-rated by both wine consumers and wine merchants.  I like to think of the best of them as the Chablis of Italy, though the best are fewer in number than there are in Bourgogne Ouest.  Fans of Chablis can taste their chalk, and fans of Soave can taste their volcanic cinders, but rather than delve into that argument after perhaps already setting one off by the comparison, let’s just say this is a delightful white – very lively with good minerality, flavors of green apples, crisp pears and a little lime with lively acidity and a touch of whey in the finish for gravitas.