Pieropan’s Soave Classico “La Rocca” 2024 sits near the top of what modern Soave can deliver, coming from one of the region’s historic, family-run benchmarks. The winery is widely credited with helping redefine Soave Classico through site-focused bottlings, and La Rocca is central to that reputation: a single-vineyard wine from the La Rocca hillside on Monte Rocchetta, “just below the medieval castle of Soave,” according to the estate.

The 2024 is made entirely from Garganega, the zone’s signature white grape. Pieropan specifies it as 100% Garganega (some outside sources occasionally suggest small blending components, but the winery’s own material is clear on the varietal). The vineyard is described in technical terms as calcareous clay soils of marine origin, at roughly 150 meters altitude with a southwest exposure—details that help explain why La Rocca often reads riper and broader than many Soaves.

Winemaking is also a defining factor. Pieropan notes that La Rocca is fermented and matured in oak barrels (tonneaux), typically spending about a year in wood before additional bottle refinement. That oak program is intended to build texture and aromatic range while still keeping the wine grounded in Soave’s mineral profile. A technical listing reports the 2024 at about 12% alcohol, with total acidity around 5.9 g/L and pH near 3.26, suggesting a frame built for balance rather than weight.

Critically, the early signal is emphatic. Monica Larner (The Wine Advocate) gives the 2024 La Rocca an excellent 94-point score, citing “depth and finesse.” More broadly, Pieropan’s own materials frame La Rocca as a long-lived white, even calling it “arguably Italy’s most cellar-worthy white,” a level of ambition that aligns with the cuvée’s history (first produced in 1978) and its oak-aged, cru-driven style.