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02/19/2003 Archived Entry: "Wine Buy Montepulciano d'Abruzzo"

Here are Carol Berman’s notes on last week’s Wine Buy:

Every once in a very welcome while, I discover a wine which really sings. Masciarelli’s Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, 1999 is one of them. As the name says, it’s from Abruzzo, a region of Italy on the Adriatic Sea in the south central part of the country. Among other gastronomic delights, Abruzzo is famous for its lamb, and as one might therefore expect, this is a great red wine to drink with lamb dishes.

Masciarelli Montepulciano d' Abruzzo set off a symphony on my palate when I first tasted it. Montepulciano is a grape that produces very lively and robust wine. This bottling is rustic, meaning that it reflects the earth and has the integrity of its region.

On the nose, it has wonderful aromas of cherry, spice and tobacco. On the palate, it is silky, and mouth-filling, with just enough grip to finish long – that means it lingers on the palate. It has every quality of a great wine. But best of all, it costs only about $7.99 a bottle.

If you try this wine and like the grape, know that it is the primary grape in two well-known wines from another wonderful and interesting region, Marche, which shares a border with Abruzzo. These wines are Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno, which Arthur and I have spoken about in the past.

Masciarelli wines are distributed by Martin-Scott Wines, NY.