Monti Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2012
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Pair this wine with sausages, tomato sauces, barbecue, and ancho chile-based dishes.
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Monti is a small estate in the region of Abruzzo. Since its inception, the Monti family winery had been operated by brothers Antonio and Elio until Elio passed away in 2002. The brothers had always been traditionalists in the production of Abruzzo's noble varietal, Montepulciano.
The Monti estate is located near Teranio, approximately 100 miles east of Rome. Here the mix of southern sun and Adriatic winds create prime conditions for the practice of viticulture. They have successfully cultivated the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grape, a big, berry redolent fruit with moderate in tannin. All Monti wines undergo complete malolactic fermentation and are unfiltered. The red wines are aged in Slavonian oak, but it is bottle aging, not barrel aging that is the key to Montepulciano's greatness.
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.