THE EXTRAORDINARY WINES OF ABRUZZO

I have been to the Abruzzo region in central Italy a number of times, not only for the wine but also for the food and the scenic beauty of the countryside. So when I received the following invitation I was only to happy to accept.

“The Charming Taste of Europe” Abruzzo-NYC 6/23 Master Class and Walk Around Tasting at Il Gattopardo Restaurant NYC.

The speakers were Davide Acerra, present of the Concordia Tutela d’Abruzzo and Alison Napjus, the Wine Spectator’s Senior Editor and Tasting Director.

Located to the east of Rome, Abruzzo has everything going for it. There are beautiful national parks, a long coastline on the Adriatic, the rugged snowcapped Apennine Mountains, and little medieval towns perched precariously on hilltops. Abruzzo is situated between the Adriatic Sea and the Gran Sasso and Majella massif. It is one of the most unspoiled regions of Italy with three national parks and more than ten national and regional natural reserves.  Abruzzo geographically is more central than southern Italy, but due to its connection with the old Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, it is considered part of the South. Abruzzo is divided into four provinces: L’Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Most vineyards are in hilly areas of which 75% are in the province of Chieti. Over two-thirds of the wine in Abruzzo is produced by cooperatives.

The traditional vine training method is the Tendone system also known as Pergola Abruzzese.

The three most important wine designations in Abruzzo are: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (red), Cerasuolo (rose), and Trebbiano D’Abruzzo (white). In terms of the wine produced, Abruzzo region is seventh in Italy.

Of the ten wineries listed below, I have visited eight of them.

Terre Di Chieti Pecorino D’Abruzzo Superiore DOC La Canaglia Bio 2024. Azienda Agricola Fontefico made from 100% Pecorino from a vineyard at 120 meters. The training system is guyot and there are 4,000 plants per hectare with an eastern exposure. The soil is iron, sand and clay. It is a single vineyard wine and is estate bottled. The farm is organic. This is a full bodied, crisp white wine with high minerality and hints of grapefruit, sage, and white flowers with a touch of almonds. It is called La Canaglia, the rascal, of Fontefico because the yields are very low. There is a different label on the bottle very year because every wine has its own personality. $27

Pecorino is an ancient grape variety which was “rediscovered” in the early 1980’s. The name in Italian means “little sheep” because the sheep liked to eat the grapes off the vines.

Abruzzo DOC Pecorino Biological 2023 Tenuta I Fauri made from 100% Pecorino. The soil is clay calcareous and the training and pruning methods are tendone, single curtain/rows (spur training). There are 1,600/3,000 vines per hectare. Static decanting of the must takes place, followed by a soft pressing. Fermentation is in stainless steel at a controlled temperature and the wine is aged in stainless steel. It is bottled at the end of February. The wine has hints of apple and honey and a touch of mint.  $25Trebbiano D’Abruzzo  DOP Fosso Cancelli  Ciavolich 2021 Made from 100% Trebbiano D’Abruzzo. The soil is clay limestone and the training system is Pergola Abruzzese. The vineyards are at 250 meters.  Harvest takes place in the beginning of  September. Fermention is spontaneous using indigenous yeasts in big Slavonian oak barrels, terracotta amphorae of 8/15 hl without control of temperature. In the same containers the wine ages on lees for six months until it is carefully blended, then it is bottled to let it evolve in the bottle. The wine has hints of fresh white flowers, pumpkin, bitter honey and a touch of yellow stone fruit. $48

Trebbiano D’Abruzzo 2010 Valentini The wine is aged in large botti of Slavonian oak for 24 months. This was a very complex full wine with a mineral character, hints of citrus fruit and apple,  peach, melon, good acidity, great finish and aftertaste with that extra something that is difficult to describe. It is a great white wine. When I visited the winery a number of years ago the late Eduardo Valentino would not speak about how the wines were made, he only spoke about the vineyard and how he had the best Trebbiano clone. Edoardo passed away in 2006 after making wine for 50 years. His son Francesco has  kept up the tradition with great Trebbianos since his first solo vintage in 2007.  A white wine 15 years old and still wonderful! $275

The Trebbiano grape produces Trebbiano d’Abruzzo white wine. It is second in area covering over 5,000 hectares. This grape is planted all over Italy but it finds its best expression in Abruzzo.

Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo DOC Malandrino 2024 Cataldi Madonna made from 100% Monepulciano D’Abruzzo The soil is clay rich in calcareous skeleton and the exposure is northeast.The training system is Pergola and the vineyards are at 1,250 ft. Fermentation in stainless steel  tanks for 30 dats at 15 to 17 C. The wine then remains in stainless steel tanks until release. It has hints of strawberry and raspberry with a touch of red currants and a hint of rosewater. $23

Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo DOC Rosa-AE Bio 2024 Torre Dei Beati. Made from 100% Monepulciano D’Abruzzo.  The vineyard is at 250 t0 300 meters and the exposure is southeast and northwest. There are 1,600 to 5,000 plants per hectare and the soil is clayey-calcareous, The training system is Abruzzo pergola and spurred cordon.  Fermentation in stainless steel.  One part “bloodletting” of the reds after cold pre-maceration, one part very light direct pressing of the non-stemmed grapes, one part coming from cold maceration on the skins. Fermentation at 15-16° C. The wine remains in the stainless steel tanks for 6 months before release. The wine has hints of cherry, strawberry, pomegranate and roses. $19

Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is a Rose’ made from the Montepulciano grape. It is made from the free run juice and/or juice with very little skin contact and the color can vary from light pink to dark red.

Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC Organic 2020 Emidio Pepe. Made  from 100% Montepulciano D’Abruzo. The soil is clay and limestone with the top 40 centimeters in clay on a solid layer of limestone. Both the tendone and pergola methods are used in the vineyard. The grapes are hand-destemmed on a net on top of a wooden vat.  Two people push the grapes back and forth until the berries fall down and the stems remain on the net unbroken. This way only the elegant and juicy tannins of the skin will go into the must but not the bitter ones from the stems. The berries remain almost intact which is important to retain the yeasts which are on the skins and really precious to the spontaneous fermentations. No sulfites are added to the wine. The juice is placed in glass lined cement tanks of 20/25hl.  The wine remains there for two years. The wine is then transferred to bottles by hand. The greatness of the wine comes with age. Recently I had the 1985 and just last week the 2001. This is a  fantastic wine.  The Winery is Organic and Bio-Dynamic and  belongs to the Triple “A”– Agriculturists Artisans Artists, an association of wine producers from around the world that believes in Organic and Bio-Dynamic production, terroir, and as little interference as possible by the winemaker in the winemaking process. Only natural yeast is used. This is a very impressive wine with deep  fruit aromas and flavors with hints of cherry, black currants, spice, leather and an elegant texture. It is one of those wonderful wines that is almost impossible to describe. $160

Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC Riserva San Martino Rosso Marina Cvetic 2021  Masciarelli made from 100% Montepulciano D’Abruzzo from S. Martino sulla Marrucino at 400 meters and from the Colle di Paolo, Fonte Filippo, Schiavone and Colle Rosina vineyards. The training system is simple guyot and spurred cordon and Abruzzo pergola (canopy). There are 6,000 to 9,000 plants per hectare.  The vines are 15 to 30 years old. Harvest takes place in the middle of October. Fermentation is in stainless steel for 15 to 20 days and maceration is for 20 to 30 days. The different crus are vinified separately with dedicated fermentation and maceration, and aged in barriques for 12 months. Then the crus are blended, bottled and aged in bottle for at least 6 months. This is a complex and intense wine that has hints of red fruit, black fruit, spice, and cherry. $38

The Montepulciano grape produces Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Montepulciano is the most planted grape in Abruzzo and is grown on about 17,000 hectares. It represents 80% of the total DOC wine produced in Abruzzo. The Montepulciano grape has been in Abruzzo since the mid 17th Century.

Colline Teramane Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOCG Cocciopesto Bio 2021 Fattoria Nicodemi made from 100% Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. The vineyards are at 300 meters. The soil is of a medium mixture of calcareous clay and there are 1,600 plants per hectare. The average age of the vines is 50 years and the training system is Abruzzo pergola. Harvest is near the end of October. Maceration is for 10–15 days and spontaneous fermentation takes place with ambient yeasts in cocciopesto amphorae. The wine spends 12 months in cocciopesto amphorae then it is decanted. No filtration before bottling. The wine remains in the bottle for 6 months before release. This is a full bodied and balanced wine with hints of blueberry, blackberry, spice with a touch of leather and a note of licorice. Thanks to a friend I was able to taste this wine in Rome last month. I really enjoyed it then and enjoyed it again today,

Cocciopesto is Ancient Opus Signinum that mixes brick, stone fragments, sand, binder and water. Cocciopesto isn’t like terracotta. It was used by the Romans and even before that, it had been used by the Phoenicians. It was used to clad aqueducts, cisterns and thermal baths. The shape of the wine container – inspired by the Roman dolium tradition – suggests that the egg-shaped interior’s convective motion fosters the recirculation of must during winemaking.  Cocciopesto amphorae do not impart any of “flavor” to the wines. $38

Coline Teramane Montepulicano D’Abruzzo Riserva DOCG Zanna 2019 Illuminati.  Produced only in the best vintages, Zanna is made with a selection of grapes from old vines (45 years old on average) from a single vineyard, pergola-trained with monitored low production through green harvest. The Zanna vineyard was the first planted by the estate, but is one of the last to be harvested.  Exposure is South and the average age of the vines is 45 years. After strong pruning and careful selection of grapes, it is produced only in the best of years. Maceration on the skins lasts 16 days at controlled temperature in stainless steel. Once malolactic fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred into Slavonian oak casks (2/3 years old, 25 hl in size) where it remains for 24 months, followed by 2 years in bottle. This an intense red wine with hints of blackberry, blueberry, dried flowers, a hint of tobacco and a touch of licorice. $38

It is always a pleasure for me to taste the fine wines of Abruzzo and even better to drink them.