Producer

Le Battistelle

I have reviewed two wines from Le Battistelle, all from the 2023 vintage, all from Soave. All are Garganega. Scores range from 93 to 96, averaging 95; the highest is the 2023 Le Battistelle “Roccolo del Durlo” Soave Classico (96 points). Le Battistelle also features in one journal article on this site.

Le Battistelle is a small, family-run estate devoted to the heroic viticulture of Soave Classico. Gelmino and Cristina Dal Bosco work steep volcanic slopes in Brognoligo that must be harvested by hand, and they focus exclusively on Garganega, aiming to express the basalt terroir of their sites. Their wines are far removed from industrial Soave: laser-focused, tense, saline and structured, white wines with backbone and longevity.

“Roccolo del Durlo” comes from the Durlo hills, one of Soave’s premier crus, where mature black basalt and tufo give a full-bodied wine of mineral texture. It adds chamomile and orange blossom to stone fruit, with flinty minerality and a long almond note on a saline finish, and improves for five years or more.

The estate Soave Classico “Battistelle”, aged in stainless steel, comes from vineyards in the heart of the zone: white peach, almond blossom, citrus peel, wet stone and wild herbs, balanced by saline minerality. It works as an aperitivo and at the table.