Winemaker Notes
Deep and dark with lifted seductive aromas of red fruits and spice, powerful ripe red and black fruits wrapped in a structured but lush, elegant frame. Tremendous length and complexity.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Chocolate cherries, stewed plums, cedar and grilled rosemary on the nose. It’s chewy and meaty on the palate, with firm tannins and a medium to full body. Lots of bite and chew on a long finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose is gamy and herbal, yet also subtly astringent, like a lamb steak garnished with herbs and accompanied by plum chutney. On the palate, that plum element swells and draws strength from an emergent current of blackberry jam, but firm tannins and notable acid bolster a latent pepperiness.
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Wine Spectator
Shows a rich note of loamy earth on the nose that's more subtle on the palate, underscoring flavors of black plum reduction, cured tobacco, graphite and fragrant hints of mocha and black licorice. Fresh and harmonious, with light, sinewy tannins firming the finish. Drink now through 2029. 20,833 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.
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.