DOC White

Pieropan Calvarino Soave Classico

Azienda Vitivinicola Pieropan Leonildo
Denomination
Soave DOC
Region
Veneto
Body
Light to medium

Pieropan's Calvarino proved Soave can age. Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave on basalt give a saline, almond-scented white with citrus drive and a stony finish. A benchmark single-vineyard Soave Classico, fine young and better at five years.

Best price
£18.24

2024 · 75cl · checked 19 Sep

Vintages 2024 2022

Prices read daily from 8 UK retailers. We earn a commission on some links; it never changes the order.

Where to buy Soave Classico Calvarino Pieropan

£18.24 best price · 7 retailers in stock · checked 20 Sep 2026

Stock is shown where the retailer publishes it, offers are sorted by price, and unavailable offers can’t be clicked.

8wines Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 19 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£18.24 £24.32/L
Bbr Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 17 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£24.50 £32.67/L
Vino Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 20 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£24.70 £32.93/L
Svinando Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 20 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£26.00 £34.67/L
Xtrawine Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 19 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£27.00 £36.00/L
Thewinesociety Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 17 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£28.00 £37.33/L
Millesima Best price 2024 · 75cl · checked 17 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£28.70 £38.27/L
Thewinesociety Best price 2022 · Magnum 150cl · checked 17 Sep
Read from the retailer's page once a day. Confidence is low, so treat it as a guide and confirm at the retailer.
£56.00 £37.33/L
Unavailable (1)
Majestic Best price 2023 · 75cl · checked 17 Sep
Out of stock
£38.00 £50.67/L
Out of stock

Stock status is read from each retailer’s page once a day and may lag. Case and magnum listings show a per-bottle or per-litre equivalent and sit outside the best-price figure.

Tasting Notes

Inside a glass of Pieropan Calvarino

Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave from the basalt slopes of the Calvarino cru, fermented in steel and matured on fine lees in glass-lined cement, never oak.

Tasted by
ItalianWines editorial
Tasted on
19 June 2026
Vintage in glass
2024
Source
Drinker consensus · confidence Medium
Taste profile
Body Light / Full
Tannins Smooth / Grippy
Sweetness Dry / Sweet
Acidity Soft / Crisp
Nose

Jasmine, hawthorn and elderflower open over white peach and green apple, with the lemon-oil lift Garganega gives on basalt. Beneath the fruit sits the flinty, faintly smoky minerality Soave drinkers reach for first, and a clear almond note. With no oak in the making, the aromatics stay high-toned and clean.

LemonLemon
JasmineJasmine
Green AppleGreen Apple
White peachWhite peach
FlintFlint
Wet stonesWet stones
AlmondAlmond
HazelnutsHazelnuts
Palate

Dry and medium-bodied at 12.5%, driven by bright citrus acidity and a saline, stony cut from the volcanic Calvarino slope. Twelve months on fine lees in glass-lined cement build a gentle creaminess around green apple, white peach and a savoury almond core, with no oak to blur it. The salinity is the through-line drinkers and critics both flag.

Finish

Long and savoury, closing on toasted hazelnut, bitter almond and a wet-stone salinity that calls for the next glass.

Overall

The wine that proved Soave can age, and still the reference point: a single-vineyard Soave Classico that drinks beautifully young yet gains honey and breadth over five to ten years. Vivino drinkers rank it among the top Soaves and critics score recent vintages above 90, James Suckling at 94; near 26 pounds it overdelivers.

Drink now Best by 2032
Live UK pricing

Where Calvarino sits on price right now

Recent vintages carry James Suckling 94 and Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri, yet Calvarino still lists near 26 pounds, below most age-worthy Italian whites of its standing.

Best price · 75 cl £18.24 at 8wines
Price spread £18.24 - £56.00 Across 7 UK retailers tracked
Retailers tracked 7UK 8 in stock
Vintages live 2024 · 2022 Current release: 2024
Per-litre (75 cl basis) £24.32 Per-litre price for the lowest current offer
Last checked 20 Sep 2026 Refreshed once every 24 hours
Wine fit score

How Calvarino scores for your table and cellar

Scored as a dry, high-acid Veneto white: strong with food and for early-to-mid-term cellaring, less suited to big-occasion grandstanding than a barrel-aged white.

Best with food 9.0/10

Dry, high-acid, saline white with no aggressive tannin or oak: one of the most food-flexible styles Italy makes, especially with seafood and vegetables.

Best value 8.6/10

A 90-plus-point, age-worthy single-vineyard Soave at 26 to 28 pounds beats most Italian whites of comparable critical standing on price.

Best intro to this style 7.2/10

A clear, classic expression of indigenous Garganega that is easy to enjoy, though its saline, mineral edge asks a little more curiosity than a simple Pinot Grigio.

Best for cellar 6.8/10

Built to age for a white: fine-lees and cement raising plus firm acidity carry it five to ten years, short of the longest-lived whites but long for the category.

Best everyday bottle 5.5/10

Fresh and low in alcohol enough for the table any night, but at 26 pounds it reads as a treat white rather than a weekday staple.

Best for an occasion 5.2/10

A refined, quietly serious white that rewards attention, but it does not carry the prestige signal of Champagne or a grand cru for a big celebration.

Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our Wine Fit Score methodology.

Denomination Compliance Snapshot

Soave in five fields

A compact view of what the Soave denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.

Allowed grapes
3 varieties listed
This bottle: Verdicchio, Garganega.
Minimum ageing
No statutory minimum
Producers release on their own schedule; 4 to 6 months in steel is typical.
Region / area
Verona: the eastern hills and plain around Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone, to the Colli Scaligeri
Source: Disciplinare.
Style
DOC · Soave
Minimum ABV at this colour: 10.5%.
Classification
DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)
Vintages

How Calvarino's vintages drink

The 2024 comes from a cooler, wetter Veneto growing season that gave fresh, perfumed Soave at 12.5% alcohol, ready on release and built to gain breadth over five years.

2024 Current release
Lowest price
£18.24
Retailers
7 in stock
2023 Sold through
Lowest price
not listed
Retailers
0 in stock
2022 Previous release
Lowest price
£56.00
Retailers
1 in stock

Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.

The disciplinare, the place, the label

Why Pieropan defines age-worthy Soave

Pieropan has farmed the Calvarino vineyard since 1901 and bottled it as Italy's first single-vineyard Soave in 1971, on basalt at 200 to 300 metres above the village.

01

DOC, DOCG, IGT: what the badges mean

Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.

Soave is in the DOC tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.

02

The denomination rules, in detail

  • Allowed grapes. 3 varieties listed in the disciplinare
  • Yield ceiling. 15.0 tonnes per hectare
  • Minimum ABV. 10.5% vol
  • Minimum ageing. No statutory minimum - producers release on their own schedule
  • Tasting panel. No mandatory pre-release tasting
03

Region and area context

Soave falls within Veneto, covering Verona: the eastern hills and plain around Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone, to the Colli Scaligeri. The denomination is further divided into 2 sub-zones.

Soave DOC zone The producer Wine route in the zone

Made at Azienda Vitivinicola Pieropan Leonildo, Soave. Directions

Wine route in the zone: Strada del Vino Soave.

04

Reading the label

  • Azienda Vitivinicola Pieropan LeonildoProducer / estate
  • Verdicchio · GarganegaGrape varieties
  • Soave DOCGeographic indication and quality tier
  • 2024Vintage (year of harvest)
  • Producer-declared ABV · 75 clAlcohol by volume and bottle size
05

What sits behind the price of Soave Classico Calvarino Pieropan

Tracked from
£18.24
Direction
Mostly cost up
Drivers
5 up / 1 down
Main factor
Single-vineyard Calvarino fruit on basalt at 200 to 300m
  1. 01

    Single-vineyard Calvarino fruit on basalt at 200 to 300m

    Cost up

    Estate fruit from Pieropan's oldest property, hand-picked in two passes on steep volcanic basalt, costs far more than valley-floor Soave bought by the tonne.

  2. 02

    A year on fine lees, then glass-lined cement ageing

    Cost up

    Calvarino sits on noble lees for 12 months and matures a further 14 in vitrified cement before release, tying up cellar space and capital with no shortcut.

  3. 03

    Hand harvest in two passes, Guyot and pergola

    Cost up

    Manual picking in successive passes for ripeness, on Guyot and Veronese pergola vines, is labour an 8-pound supermarket Soave never pays for.

  4. 04

    Benchmark name and 90-plus critic scores

    Cost up

    Recent vintages earn James Suckling 94 and Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri; that reputation as the reference Soave supports a price well above the DOC average.

  5. 05

    No oak programme

    Cost down

    Raising the wine in cement and steel rather than new barriques avoids the barrel cost that lifts many comparably serious whites.

  6. 06

    UK duty and VAT on a still wine

    Cost up

    UK alcohol duty of 2.67 pounds a bottle plus 20% VAT take roughly 7 pounds of Calvarino's 26-pound UK shelf price before the retailer's margin.

01

Single-vineyard Calvarino fruit on basalt at 200 to 300m

Cost up

Estate fruit from Pieropan's oldest property, hand-picked in two passes on steep volcanic basalt, costs far more than valley-floor Soave bought by the tonne.

Perfect Pairings

Dishes that go with this wine

Food Pairing

Soave salinity at the Venetian table: what fits Calvarino

Calvarino's citrus acidity and saline cut were made for the lagoon kitchen, from risi e bisi to baccala mantecato, seafood risotto and fried fish.

Acidity matching Strong match

Venetian rice and seafood risotto

Calvarino's bright citrus acidity lifts the starch and butter of a Veneto risotto without fighting it, while its salinity echoes the shellfish stock. Acidity is the structural axis here: it keeps each creamy mouthful fresh.

Try with: Risi e bisi · Seafood risotto · Risotto alla Milanese · Polenta e schie · More pairings →

Salt balance Strong match

Salt cod and lagoon shellfish

The wine carries its own saline, mineral cut from basalt, so it meets the brine of mussels and whipped salt cod on level terms rather than being swamped. Salt against salt, with citrus to refresh, is the classic Soave move.

Try with: Baccala mantecato · Impepata di cozze · Cozze arraganate · Fregula ai frutti di mare · More pairings →

Fat cutting Good match

Fried fish and fritto misto

High acidity scythes through fried batter and oil, resetting the palate between bites. Calvarino has the freshness to cut fat without the oak weight that would clash with delicate fried seafood.

Try with: Fritto misto di mare · Fried calamari · Gnocco fritto · Tempura vegetables · More pairings →

Aromatic bridge Good match

Fresh cheese and spring vegetables

The white-flower and almond aromatics bridge to fresh mozzarella, peas and asparagus, matching their green, milky notes instead of overpowering them. A textbook pairing for a wine grown beside the same gardens.

Try with: Insalata Caprese · Risi e bisi · Asparagus risotto · Fresh ricotta · More pairings →

Body matching Good match

Delicate white fish and raw fish

Medium body and no oak let Calvarino sit alongside steamed sea bass, crudo and sushi without flattening them; the salinity behaves like a squeeze of lemon. Weight for weight, it matches lean fish rather than dominating it.

Try with: Steamed sea bass · Grilled white fish · Sushi and sashimi · Smoked salmon · More pairings →

Avoid Clash

Fierce chilli heat and heavy oak

Calvarino's delicate saline aromatics get flattened by aggressive chilli heat, and it has no residual sugar to tame capsaicin. It also lacks the weight to stand beside oak-driven or red-meat richness, which buries its citrus and stone.

Skip with: Vindaloo · Sichuan hotpot · Barbecue brisket · Heavily oaked Chardonnay dishes · Pairing guide →

Drinking + cellar

Cellaring Pieropan Calvarino

Calvarino is the Soave that proved the style can age, taking on honey and toasted hazelnut across five to ten years while keeping its stony spine.

Decanting
no

A short splash decant softens the first-pour edge and opens the aromatics.

Cellar potential
Medium

Built to age for a white: fine-lees and cement raising plus firm acidity carry it five to ten years, short of the longest-lived whites but long for the category.

Buy now or wait?
Buy now

£18.24 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.

Sources & trust

Sources behind these Calvarino notes

Prices & stock

Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 20 Sep 2026, 00:45 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.

Confidence · High
Tasting notes

Drawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.

Confidence · Medium
Appellation rules & ageing

From the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.

Confidence · High
Why it costs what it costs

Our reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.

Confidence · Medium
Drink window & cellar potential

Style guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.

Confidence · Medium

Common Questions

A single-vineyard Soave Classico from Pieropan, a benchmark estate, from the old Calvarino site, blending Garganega with Trebbiano di Soave.

Citrus, white flowers, almond and a saline, stony minerality, dry and elegant with real depth for Soave.

Calvarino is famous for ageing and often develops honeyed, nutty complexity over five to ten years.

Risotto, seafood, white meats, vegetable dishes and fresh cheeses.

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Soave Classico Calvarino Pieropan