Corte Adami
CimAlta
2020
Corte Adami CimAlta
Corte Adami CimAlta is a pure expression of the Garganega grape from Soave Classico. It hails from the highest elevation site in the DOC and the resulting wine has a beautiful minerality in addition to the classic lemon and almond notes. It is currently the lightest of our white wines, a dry Italian white wine that’s perfect for a hot summer day.
VINEYARD
Grape Varieties
Type
Soil
Vineyard
WINERY
Fermentation
Aging
Alcohol
Serving Temperature
Cellaring
AT HOME
Designation
100% Garganega
Dry, white wine
Substrate of volcanic origin, with tuffaceous components.
Highest elevation vineyard in Soave Classico at 1082 feet. Southeast exposure. Located in the historic cru Castelcerino. Vines are an average of 35 years old.
Temperature controlled instainless steel.
6 months in stainless steel.
12.5%
50°F (10°C)
5 years
Appearance:
Pale lemon with greenish reflections.
Taste:
Light lemony wine. Long mineral finish.
Nose:
Lemon, almonds, lime, honeydew, flint strike, cream, white pepper, ginger, rock.
Pairing:
Lake or delicate fish dishes, summer salads, creamy soups, poultry, pasta with vegetables.
Why We Love This Wine
Most Soave are neutral wines, agreeable but forgettable. They come from the 4,000 acres planted on the plains below the town of the same name. However, 25% of Soave vineyard acreage is planted on hillside. The hillsides control the yields of Garganega and the resulting wines can be excellent.
In keeping with our high elevation theme, Corte Adami CimAlta is from the top of the highest hill in the Soave Classico DOC at 1082 feet. The very word, CimAlta, is a combination of the words Cima (peak) and Alta (high). The vines, averaging 35 years of age, are located in the historic cru Castelcerino in the northwest corner of the appellation. The Soave DOC is known for is dark soils, composed of calcareous clays or tufaceous formations, with glacial deposits of rounded stones (useful for building vineyard walls). The stones become rounded over centuries as they move down the hill, but as this is the very top of the mountain, they are still jagged and sharp.
CimAlta is a dry Italian white wine that is pale lemon color with greenish reflections. The most obvious aromas, lemon and almond, are that of Classic Soave. These hold center stage, but upon further inspection, one can also detect lime, honeydew, flint strike, cream, white pepper, and chamomile. This wine just breathes sunny energy. On the palate however, the fruit flavors are encircled by an intense limestone minerality, which differentiates CimAlta from its peers. There is more emphasis on length than breadth, combining a light structure with great flavor intensity.
Critics Review
"The 2020 Soave CimAlta pulls you close, with dusty florals giving way to crushed apples and a zest of lime. This is silky and soft in texture, with saline-infused orchard fruits and pretty inner florals that form toward the close. It leaves hints of tropical citrus and minerals to linger through the long and tension-filled finale. The CimAlta is a nicely balanced and characterful Soave, and also an excellent value.”
— Eric Guido, Vinous
About the Winery
The Adami family are fourth generation growers and second generation winemakers in Soave and Valpolicella. Only a fraction of the family's thirty six hectares are destined to be bottled under their name. The reason for this is a simple one: the desire to achieve excellence without any nagging doubts over production or making wine merely for commercial purposes. In this way, the use of increasingly natural, low-invasive methods, short pruning, cluster thinning and constant attention to and promotion of the autochthonous grape varieties on the estates are fast yielding gratifying results and increasing the winery’s prestige.
Images Courtesy of Corte Adami