Description

Fattoria La Valentina Spelt Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva 2021

93 pts – Vinous

Vibrant from the first tilt of the glass, the 2021 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Spelt is impossible to ignore. Blood orange and peppery rose complicate crushed blackberries and sage. This is silky smooth with an elegant wave of ripe red and blue fruits. Clove and dark chocolate notes add a pleasantly bitter tinge toward the close. The 2021 tapers off with fantastic length and a gentle tug of fine tannins, leaving a zesty wild berry concentration that adds youthful poise. This is a great example of oak integration (50% new) and how well it can work when applied properly.

92 pts – James Suckling

A full-bodied red with concentrated layers of black plums, dried spices like nutmeg, dried cherries and vanilla. The tannins are broad and firm but ripe. Compact. Best after 2025.

90 pts – Wine Enthusiast

On the nose, savory, umami, spicy aromas of smoke, damp earth and pepper are balanced by the subtle tartness of black cherries, blackberries and bergamot. The fruit is sweeter and denser on the palate, but still has a tartness that stands up to chalky, chewy tannins, lively acid and a peppery finish. — Danielle Callegari

Abruzzo

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.

Montepulciano Wine

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.

100% Montepulcianozo d’Abruz

Intense red, with purple shadows. Aromas of wild rose, violet, crisp redcurrant, pomegranate and licorice. The taste appears velvety and sharp at the same time, with polished tannins that make a voluptuous and savory profile. Long persistence with great freshness and mineral finish.

Winemaker Notes