Azienda Agricola Cirelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2018
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The Montepulciano grapes, coming from their own vineyards and some other rented, are collected in boxes and carried to the cellar. Here the grapes are de-stemmed and gently crushed, then transferred into the clay amphoras where the indigenous yeasts take over and lead the fermentation process. The grape skins are softly plunged into the juice, in order to prevent the extraction of the stronger tannins. The maceration process usually last around twelve days, after which the skins are separated from the wine and softly pressed. The Montepulciano wine then rests and refines in the amphoras all the way through the malolactic fermentation, until it is ready to be bottled.
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Freshly pressed blackberries, cherries and cranberries take on earthy elements of crushed herbs and gravel in this amphora-aged Montepulciano. There's a polished, supple feel to the berry fruit on the medium-bodied palate, with streaks of crushed mineral and earthy spice lending depth. The finish lingers long on a bright cherry-skin note.
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2020-
James
Suckling
Montepulciano is the second most planted red variety in Italy after Sangiovese, though it is achieves its highest potential in the region of Abruzzo. Consistently enticing and enjoyable, Montepulciano enjoys great popularity throughout central and southern Italy as well. A tiny bit grows with success in California, Argentina and Australia. Somm Secret—Montepulciano is also the name of a village in Tuscany where, confusingly, they don’t grow the Montepulciano grape at all! Sangiovese shines in yet another Tuscan village, here making the reputable wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
A warm, Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, in Abruzzo, the distance from mountains to seaside is relatively short. The Apenniness, which run through the center of Italy, rise up on its western side while the Adriatic Sea defines its eastern border.
Wine composition tends to two varieties: Abruzzo’s red grape, Montepulciano and its white, Trebbiano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can come in a quaffable, rustic and fruity style that generally drinks best young. It is also capable of making a more serious style, where oak aging tames its purely wild fruit.
Trebbiano in Abruzzo also comes in a couple of varieties. Trebbiano Toscana makes a simple and fruity white. However when meticulously tended, the specific Trebbiano d’Abruzzo-based white wines can be complex and long-lived.
In the region’s efforts to focus on better sites and lower yields, vine acreage has decreased in recent years while quality has increased.