Winemaker Notes
A deep and intense ruby red with shades of purple. This wine immerses the nose with an extraordinary breadth of mature and concentrated aromas –plums and figs integrated with notes of spice. On the palate, this wine reveals its Montepulciano origins with well-bodied and persistently powerful tannins.
Excellent with very succulent first courses, as well as roast and braised meats. A great accompaniment with game, cheeses, and cured meats.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Crushed red and dark berries, orange peel, savory herbs and earth on the nose. Medium-bodied and dry, with a dusty texture and a savory finish that is lightly chewy at the end.
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Wine Enthusiast
The very umami, peppery nose is layered with underbrush, soil, crushed herbs and black plums, and the palate has a similarly spicy, peppery feel, but with more sweetness emphasized by ripe berries. Tannins are structured but satiny.
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.