Winemaker Notes
This wine shows spicy licorice and aromas of small forests fruits, with light notes of vanilla, chocolate and faded rose. Full and rich bodied, with silky and elegant tannins. The long finish is intense and persistent, with notes of mature red fruits and tobacco.
The Casauria Riserva is best enjoyed with hearty, savory dishes and goes nicely alongside rich roasted vegetables and aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
2021 Podere Castorani MONTEPULCIANO D'ABRUZZO CASAURIA RISERVA — Deep ruby-purple color; attractive, beautifully ripened boysenberries rise from the glass; medium bodied, finely layered and polished on the palate, with well-balanced tannins giving the wine structure without getting in the way of its generous fruit; ripe dark berries and just a trace of oak sail smoothly through the long, satisfying finish. This wine is so delicious, classy yet wonderfully inviting, and I’d put it on the table with herb-crusted rack of lamb with rosemary, garlic and a rich red wine jus—an elegant pairing that lets this terrific Montepulciano strut its stuff. (Tasted: 8/15/26, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Tobacco, walnuts, grilled plums and bay leaves on the nose of this toasty red. It’s medium- to full-bodied with nicely polished tannins and a sleek finish. Drink now or hold.
With over 200 years of history Podere Castorani spreads across 75 acres of lush countryside in the province of Pescara, Italy, between Majella National Park and the Adriatic Sea. The estate’s principal grape varieties are Montepulciano d'Abruzzo in red and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo in white. The partners regularly test new grape varieties in a perpetual search for the fullest expression of the terroir. At Podere Castorani, their pursuit of excellence can only be satisfied through respect for traditional expertise.
To understand how Castorani first got its start, we must go back to the beginning, in 1793. At that time, renowned ocular surgeon Raffaele Castorani became proprietor of the estate. At the end of the First World War, Antonio Casulli took over the estate with a vision of expanding production and boosting Castorani’s reputation. Upon his death, the vineyard was divided, and its decline began. Many years would pass before the estate would undergo a revival. In 1999, pilot Jarno Trulli decided to fully commit himself to coaxing the iconic Castorani estate back to life, with the help of his friends. They worked painstakingly together, and in harmony with nature, the thirty-year-old vines grew organically.
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.