Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby red color and nuances of ruby red, little transparency. The bouquet on the nose is intense, clean and pleasing, with aromas of black cherry, blueberry, plum, carob and violet followed by pleasing aromas of walnut-husk. On the palate it is balanced, with agreeable tannins, good body and intense flavors; persistent finish with flavors of black cherry and plum.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Opaque ruby in color, with dense purple highlights, this red is rich in dark cherry and plum, mixed with tobacco and a hint of rubber. Time in stainless steel and concrete has left the fruit pure and clean, yielding a dark-fruit-coulis flavor on the palate that’s brightened up by a brisk line of crushed stone. Well-mannered tannins and integrated acidity lend just enough support. Vias Imports.
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.