Saturday, February 16, 2008

Valle Reale Vigne Nuove Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2005 Wine Review (NW)


Tasting notes:

Nose of red berries and currants

Fleshy texture on palate

Smooth finish with more berries, anise, and chocolate accented by mineral undertone

Meet my new house Italian for this year! This wine is tasty, smooth, and interesting. It has real fruit qualities balanced by a terrific undertone of minerals and earthiness. That's always a great balancing act in Italian red wines. And oh, by the way, no oak here.

Montepulciano D'Abruzzo is not to be confused with the village of Montepulciano in Tuscany that produces Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Many people are familiar with this village as it sights on a hilltop adjacent to the Brunello district surrounding Montalcino. Lots of wine tourism here! Quite the contrary with the Montepulciano D'Abruzzo production zone which is distinctly off the beaten path all the way over on the Adriatic Coast near Teramo. Hopefully it remains off the beaten path for years to come as this region produces the best price-to-quality ratio of all Italian red wines. I paid $10 for this wine, and it was the most expensive one out of four offerings in a local wine shop. Raise a glass!

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:20 PM

    Sounds good I will have to see if I can locate it here!

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  2. Anonymous6:14 PM

    I read a review in my local wine shop from the wall street journal where they rated this wine as the best value. I picked up the 2006 as there were no more 05's and it is quite nice with plenty of fruit and a nice rusticness. Let me know whether you think the 05 is better or what.

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  3. Anonymous12:09 PM

    The 05 is so much better..unbeatable at this price point..

    ReplyDelete