Holding a wine in the cellar until the appropriate time is always a gamble. Sometimes you open the wine too early and are disappointed (especially if if you only have 1 bottle). On the opposite end, you wait too long and and the wine has oxidized, lost it elegance, freshness, youthfulness and becomes flabby, tired and totally uninteresting.
But when you decide to open, wondering if you will totally succeed, and it does, it brings a wonderous smile to your tastebuds!
This wine does exactly that! Now fully matured, it presents an aroma that is deeply expressive, resembling a steely white Burgundy more than a typical Italian Bianco. I detected a blend of rich white stone fruits, savory minerals, rubbed sage, sea air, and subtle hints of spice. On the palate, it offered round textures on a medium-bodied frame, featuring savory minerals, green apple, young peach, and saline-infused yellow citrus. The finish was long, with saturating mineral tones, resonating tart apple acidity, hints of lemon peel, and inner florals.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Abruzzo is a mountainous region located on the Adriatic coast, roughly halfway down Italy. With 83,000 vineyard acres, it ranks 10th in size among Italy’s wine-producing areas. Although the Apennines, the mountains that characterize the region, keep Abruzzo off the typical wine tourism paths, it is Italy’s fifth most productive wine region. It produces nearly twice as much wine as Tuscany, but until recently, most Abruzzo wines were mass-produced and of low quality. However, in recent years, boutique producers have emerged in Abruzzo, and Gambero Rosso noted in 2016 that Abruzzo wines are increasingly “better defined and of better quality…. We see an ever more convincing rediscovery of roots and traditional techniques.” Abruzzo has one DOCG, for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane, and three DOCs, including one for the red wine Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and another for the white Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. The third DOC is Controguerra, which includes various red and white wines made from a wide range of grapes. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, the grape, is often confused with the Tuscan town of Montepulciano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a deeply dark, tannic grape that was once thought to be related to Sangiovese, although this has now been disproven. Classic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines are known for flavors of blackberry with earthy nuances.
A precise, vibrant and scented nose combines lemon, tangerine, ginger, botanical herbs and lemon verbena, with noteworthy flintiness in the background. Offers a compelling scenario of rare precision, energy and size, displaying great lift and a penetrating quality to the focused flavors of lemon, lime, and crushed stones. A laser beam of lemony acidity carries through on the rising, piercing finish, which features outstanding clarity and cut, with repeating notes of lime and tangerine.
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