Prà Soave Classico Monte Grande: 1998 - 2015
BY IAN D'AGATA | SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
Graziano Prà owns 37 hectares of vines in Veneto’s two most famous winemaking areas, Soave Classico (30 hectares) and Valpolicella (7 hectares). While his recent foray into the world of red wines has been highlighted by the production of outstanding Valpolicella and Amarone wines, further confirming the estate’s reputation as one of the very best in Italy, there is no doubt Prà has always been viewed as a quintessential white wine producer.
The Monte Grande vineyard
Monte Grande: Terroir-Driven and Unique
Prà makes four different Soaves, starting from the entry-level Soave Classico Otto up to the oak-aged, ultraripe Colle Sant’Antonio. Grapes are sourced from a number of famous crus in the Soave and Soave Classico production zone: Froscà, Foscarino, Montegrande, Monte Bisson, Ca’ de Napa, Terzo Capitello, Ponsara, Val dell’Acqua, and Costalta. The best thing I can say about this estate is that I always have a hard time selecting the most noteworthy wine in the lineup. For this special Vinous report, I opted for a vertical of the Soave Classico Monte Grande, a wine Prà first made in the 1988 vintage, but I could just as easily have tasted and written up the Soave Classico Colle Sant’Antonio (in some years just a little too rich and oaky for my taste) or the Soave Staforte (the only non-classico Soave Prà makes). Basic Soave wines are made in a large swath of mostly flatland vineyards planted on more fertile soils of different geologic origin than those of the delimited Classico area, the smaller, much more hilly part of the region that has historically been associated with production of the best Soaves.
Arguably, Prà’s best wine is the Soave Classico Monte Grande, of which he makes roughly 1,250 to 1,500 cases a year, depending on the vintage. There are many things I like about this wine, first and foremost the fact that, despite being a rather expansive style of Soave (but never in the gargantuan mode of the Colle Sant’Antonio), it manages most years to deliver noteworthy ripeness and volume without camouflaging either its specific terroir or the native varieties from which it is made.
