Anselmi, Veneto (Italy) Capitel Foscarino 2004 ($19, Palm Bay International):  Italy has her share of iconic, independent-minded wine producers--guys (they mainly are guys) who break with the status quo in their region by trying new techniques, planting new grape varieties, and/or disavowing the local DOC identities for their wines.  In the Soave district of the Veneto, that would apply to Roberto Anselmi.

I greatly admire today's new vanguard of Soave wines, which have brought respect back to a wine zone that ought to be among Italy's proudest white wine areas.  I'd like to say that Anselmi is one of the finest producers of Soave, but semantics get in the way: Anselmi no longer makes Soave.  He makes IGT Veneto wines whose grapes are the same as those of Soave, from the same zone.

Capitel Foscarino is a wine from a vineyard on a hill called Foscarino, and its grape blend is 80% Garganega with 20% Chardonnay--the latter now a permitted grape in Soave production.  Garganega (the second syllable is stressed) is a grape of probable Greek origins that is important mainly in the Soave and Gambellara zones of the Veneto, although the Grecanico grape of Sicily seems identical.  Back when it was grown at very high yields to make inexpensive, commercial Soaves, Garganega was often uttered in the same breath as Trebbiano, the neutral, innocuous backbone of so many Italian white wines.  Now, Garganega is proving itself to be a top grape in the hands of growers who know what they're doing.

The 2004 Capitel Foscarino is richer than most Soave wines, but the almond character in its aroma, which mingles with smoky and clear mineral notes, is a classic Soave chord.  In the mouth, the wine is dry and nearly full-bodied, with crisp acidity surrounded by rich, somewhat oily texture.  The wine has lots of extract and some slight phenolic character to keep it grounded in your mouth.  Its flavors suggest minerals, almonds, apples, pears and a slight note of peach but, like the aromas, these flavors are only moderately intense.  This is a wine whose pleasure comes not from its aromas and flavors alone, but from the whole package of weight, structure, concentration, and flavor--all working together.  Anselmi's basic 'San Vincenzo' wine (a great buy at $12.50), in comparison, is leaner, steelier, fresher and also less harmonious.

Although Anselmi does use oak barrels for his 100%-Garganega Capitel Croce white and his I Capitelli dessert wine, Capitel Foscarino is unoaked.  The grapes undergo a period of cold maceration prior to pressing, and the juice ferments in steel vats, followed by six months on the lees with bâtonnage, without malolactic fermentation.  The lees aging, together with the ripeness of the grapes, is most likely responsible for the wine's rich texture, while the absence of ML accounts for the crisp acidity.

You can drink this wine at cellar temperature or chill it down to refrigerator temperature--it pleases either way. Shellfish and creamy cheeses are two terrific matches, and the wine also has enough weight to pair with risotto.

90 Points