The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC is the main representative wine that identified the food products of the Abruzzo region.
This red wines is produced in all the Abruzzo territory: Aquila, Teramo, Pescara and Chieti. Even if these territories have different features: mountainous and karstic for the Aquila province, hilly for Teramo and Chieti provinces and mountainous, hilly but also flat for the Pescara province; the Montepulciano is able to assume, depending where the vines are located, prestigious characteristics which valorizes its taste, the color, and the scent in different ways. It has to be specified that in some particular regional sub-areas such as the “Terre de’ Vestini”, which is an hilly territory in the Pescara province which border on the Teramo province, the Montepulciano expresses its best characteristics so much that is was honored by the DOCG certification. Also the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo of the Teramane hills is classified as DOCG.
It has an intense ruby red color almost shady. Depending on the aging period the red color could be more or less intense, until reaching the most bright garnet nuances. The scent has some pleasant fruity flavors, that reminds the wood with its red fruits aromas such as the blueberries, the currant and the gooseberry.
To this aromas, there could be added also some spicy ones more or less marked depending on the aging period and so the alcoholic degree.
The taste of this wine from Abruzzo is pleasant, harmonic and with an optimal balance between the tannins (barely present) and the softness of the taste also valorized by the modest alcoholic degree.
In general the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is an enjoyable wine to be matched with important second courses not to result heavy but, on the contrary, very pleasant for lamb and calf or with games such as boar and deer, etc. It is good also with cheeses like the Pecorino at different aged stages. The main courses joinable to the Moltepulciano d’Abruzzo are for example the fresh pastas or the durum wheat ones all structured pastas with ragù (meat and tomato) sauce but also legumes soups of lentils, beans and chickpeas.
To better taste this wine is suggested to serve it in a temperature between the 18° and the 20°C in a wide wine glass. The settling time has to be at least of 2 hours (also 1 hour for the most refined ones) and 3 hours for the most aged ones.
The optimal years according to the best Italian Sommelier are: ’93; ’98; ‘’00; ‘’01; ‘’04; ’’05 and ‘’06. The 2008 is classified as excellent. It has to be avoided the 1996 because qualitative bad due to zoo-technics problems. Surf on our online wine shop and find out the several Montepulciano d’Abruzzo belonging to different producing cellars.
