This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous
Illuminati
Riparosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2020
One of the prettiest mixes of blackberries tinged with violet candies and spiced orange peels wafts up from the 2020 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riparosso. It’s juicy and fun, yet also silky with medium weight textures; ripe red and hints of blueberry fruits wash across the palate. A staining of minerality lingers, along with a pleasant inner sweetness to balance, as nuances of lavender fade. While not the deepest Montepulciano, the value here is unprecedented. I would drink this any day of the week. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Cataldi Madonna
Malandrino Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2020
The 2020 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Malandrino gets an official “wow” from the first tilt of the glass as violets and lavender give way to crushed blackberries, blueberries and hints of sweet spice. This is elegance personified, with a juicy core of acidity that enlivens its near-velvety textures and wild berry fruits. It finishes lightly structured, concentrated and long yet perfumed, making the 2020 a pleasure today, but also capable of medium-term cellaring. This is another outstanding vintage of Montepulciano Malandrino which, for all of its depth, has been refined completely in stainless steel tank since the 2012 vintage. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Tiberio
Fonte Canale Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 2021
The 2021 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo is intense yet fresh with vivid peach and young mango giving way to mint and white flowers. This washes across the palate with mineral intensity and pure orchard fruits, yet it comes across as round and soothing in feel. A salty flourish lingers, along with hints of lime, as the 2021 tapers off long and sapid. While not a wine for the ages, Cristiana Tiberio did a fabulous job dealing with the warm and dry conditions of the year. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Tiberio
Colle Vota Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2018
The 2018 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colle Vota lifts up dark, exotic, spicy and intense. Cracked chalk, dried violets and lavender give way to plum skins and black currants dusted in curry spices. This is silky, verging on velvety in texture and massively floral, communicating supreme elegance with green botanicals mingling with vibrant wild berry then morphing into nuances of peach, all lifted by lively acidity and with a lovely inner sweetness. A primary concentration of exotic citrus and spices sizzle around the perimeters of the palate, lingering incredibly long through the lightly structured, yet fresh, finale. There are so many layers here. Colle Vota hails from a single parcel of vines planted in sandy, stony soils within the Tiberio vineyards, one which produces smaller berries and thicker skins. I highly recommend decanting the 2018 if opening it today, as it evolves over the course of hours. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Azienda Agricola Binomio
Riserva Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2018
The 2018 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva Binomio is hauntingly dark and floral, seducing with its rich mix of grilled herbs, plum sauce and dark chocolate. It floods the palate with medium-weight textures and polished red and black fruits, yet beneath is a core of salty minerals and lively acidity that adds both depth and energy to the experience. Lightly structured and wonderfully refined, this tapers off with length, leaving inner violet florals and a bitter twang of currant to linger through the otherwise-juicy finale. Binomio, a collaboration between Inama (Veneto) and La Valentina (Abruzzo), nailed the 2018 vintage. It could use some time to soften a bit through the finish and for its aromatics to evolve; but otherwise, this is already irresistible today. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Tiberio
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2020
The dreamy 2020 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo seduces with a classic bouquet of crushed rocks, violets, lavender, hints of blood orange and nuanced strawberry fruits. It envelopes the palate with textural, ripe wild berries that give way to a caking of minerality that creates a crunchy feel toward the close. Elegant to the very end, the 2020 finishes lightly structured with concentration, yet also dazzling floral perfumes that linger impossibly long. This is simply stunning and a perfectly complete Montepulciano. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Tiberio
Archivo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2018
The 2018 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Archivio is a dark and multifaceted beauty, slowly unwinding in the glass, inward and viral, hauntingly floral, dusty and rooted firmly in the earth. An enthralling mix of smoky grilled herbs, graphite and tart black cherries come together with sage, lifted by dried flowers and hints of fresh mint leaf. It’s rich yet elegant, like crushed velvet draped across the senses, pliant and potent, lifted by brilliant acidity, while staining the palate with citrus-tinged raspberries. There is so much concentration within, echoing purple-tinged florals and lavender tones as this tapers off with incredible length, lightly structured and with a tart wild berry twang. A salty flourish keeps me coming back to the glass. While this may not be as structured as the 2017, the 2018 instead impresses on its immaculate precision and balance. Archivio is produced from the oldest pergola-trained vines on the Tiberio estate, which grow in clay-rich soils. Around 30% of the wine is matured for twelve months in new barrique, yet the integration is perfect. This is a whole new level for Cristiana Tiberio. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Amorotti
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2018
Sometimes you nose a wine and wonder, where do I start? So it is with the 2018 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Crushed ashen stones, like something unearthed from the gut of a volcano, evolve into notes of curry leaf, balsam herbs, sweet tobacco, licorice and, finally, dried black cherries. This gentle giant coasts along the palate with soft textural waves of mineral-tinged red and black fruits, yet beneath it all is an energizing core of strict acidity. Its tannins are present, yet they are sweet and nearly masked by the primary concentration within. The 2018 finishes long and perfumed with a tug of tart wild berries that resonates. While the 2018 will be an earlier maturing vintage of Amorotti Montepulciano, it should not be missed. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago
Delectable Wine
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The 2020 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo tricks you into thinking it may be a rich and heady wine with its seductive mix of vanilla-tinged yellow flowers, sweet smoke and custard that greet the senses. However, with time in the glass, a core of vivid peach and hints of orange oils emerge. It’s seamlessly smooth and expansive, coasting along the palate with silken textures that host ripe apple and melon tones. The 2020’s minerality comes forward in the finale, with a salty flourish that gives way to nuances of pear. While I don’t find the structure of past vintages here, I do find a highly enjoyable and masterfully balanced Trebbiano that will make collectors very happy through short-term cellaring. (Eric Guido, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago