Just a few feet off the beaten path

Wines from Montelpulciano d' Abruzzo have a zest that's hard to ignore

Italian wines are so hot right now, including the traditional standard-bearers from Tuscany and Piedmont, and moving over to Sicily, which has recently become one of the darlings of the international wine press.  Yet there are also some traditional wines from areas with a millennia or two of wine-making history that still manage to fly just a few feet under the radar.  One such region is Montelpulciano d’Abruzzo.

Wines from this region on the cheaper side (i.e., $10.00 or under) tend to be simple, cheerful and gluggable wines.  They don’t speak of the place where they’re grown, they don’t have much in the way of complexity, and they just don’t take themselves very seriously.  However, just as people who are not all that deep can sometimes have an energy that makes them entertaining to be around, so, too, Montepulciano wines from the lower end of the spectrum can be liberating and fun.  You can check your intellect, and all of your pretensions, at the door and simply enjoy a wine that’s meant to be straightforward and easy-going. 

At its best, however, wines from this region have a bit more to offer.  When I’m in the mood for pizza or pasta, my go-to wine is almost always a Barbera from the Piedmont or a Sangiovese-based wine from Tuscany.  Yet, if you were to offer me a glass of one of the finer Montelpulciano d’Abruzzos, I would accept it quite happily.  The best examples retain that welcoming, cheerful spirit, but also offer something a bit more elevated.

This week's Wine Face-Off brings together two well-regarded wines from the Abruzzo, which is mid-way down the eastern side of Italy's boot, near the Adriatic Sea.  The test dish here was some wheat spaghetti with a roasted-garlic tomato sauce.

An Old World fruit extravaganza

 2013 Poggia Anima Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Italy):  Dark plum.  Red licorice, sour cherries and candied red fruits on the nose, with a streak of steely minerality running through both the aroma and the palate.  By Old World standards, this is a fruit bomb – big, sweet fruit aromas and flavors.  Nice, good with food, well-made.  Maybe just a touch simple and upfront for a wine at the $13.98 price point?  ***

Earthy, rich and altogether an exemplary Montepulciano

2011 Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Italy):  Medium plum.  Dark cherry and earthy aromas.  The earthiness carries through to the palate as well.   More candied fruit elements come to the forefront with air.  Later still, the candied element blows off and is replaced by subtle scents of mushrooms and vanilla.  A bit richer, and more complex than the Poggia Anima.  More interesting with food as well.  As this opens up, the sheer fun of Montepulciano is replaced by – dare I say it? – the authority of something with a slightly more serious purpose.  This bottle comes in at the same price point as the Poggia Anima.  *** ½

Query: is the difference between these two wines due solely to the two additional years of bottle age possessed by the Zaccagnini?  From my experience in the past, Cantina Zaccagnini offers one of the top wines from this region, so I suspect that there’s something about their vineyards and winemaking that is a cut above.  On the other hand, I would be happy to revisit the 2013 Poggia Anima in a couple of years to see if I’m right…