More Montepulciano

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is my favorite Italian red wine. I’ve written about it before, and you’ll probably see it popping up here again and again. Montepulciano was the house red at my aunt’s Italian restaurant where I waited tables in high school and college. It’s rustic, affordable, easy drinking, and delicious. It’s the kind of wine that works beautifully with a warm family-style meal like Sunday sauce. But, it’s not such a heavy red wine that it’s overbearing as the temperatures warm up.

Did I mention how reasonable it is?!

This Illuminati 2020 Riparosso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is just $11.99 on Wine.com and as you can see from the sticker in the picture, it got 92 points from wine critic James Suckling. That is one highly rated, delicious wine for just $11.99.

I tasted this one over the weekend and it has all of the qualities I love about Montepulciano; it’s a gorgeous ruby red color with violet highlights. It tastes like dark cherry alongside all of these old school, rustic notes like sawdust and dirt floor. Those sound like crazy things to love about wine, but I think nothing beats beautiful grapes blended with the smell and taste of the earth. This is lighter bodied for a red wine—I’d consider it medium bodied— with lightly grippy tannins, so it’s tight and fresh and not too heavy for this time of year. It would be great with meats and lovely at a bbq. It could stand up to a big Italian meal, but it’s also just fine and dandy on its own.

🍇 Reminder: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is from Abruzzo and is made with Montepulciano grapes. It is not the same as Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is from Tuscany and made with a base of Sangiovese grapes.

Chin!