Abruzzo & Molise: This Year It’s Reds Over Whites

BY IAN D’AGATA I JUNE 15, 2017

A decade ago, I would never have said much about wines from Abruzzo or Molise, except for those from a handful of producers. And even in those few cases, save for Valentini (first without equals), I wouldn’t have done so in the generally glowing terms I use today. For Abruzzo’s and Molise’s white wines were generally neutral and oxidized quickly, while their fruit-challenged reds were often too tannic and tough when they weren’t flawed. And the more expensive and hyped reds were overoaked and overripe.

How things change! What used to be a region most noteworthy for inexpensive Sunday garden party and barbecue quaffers is now the smart buyer’s address for wines that are not just inexpensive and good but at times downright exciting. Molise is also improving its vinous offerings, albeit at a much slower pace and in slightly less convincing fashion. But there are encouraging signs here too.

La Majella, Abruzzo's second highest mountain

Grape Varieties, and Knowing What To Do With Them

Two key factors explain Abruzzo’s emergence from the doldrums. First and foremost has been the realization on the part of many wine producers that Abruzzo is replete with grape varieties that grow only there, and for centuries at that—wine grapes that speak of Abruzzo in a way that international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay cannot. It follows that wines made with such grapes can potentially offer interesting, unique aromas and flavors not found in wines made elsewhere in the world. Clearly, achieving distinctive wines with the likes of, for example, Passerina or the even less well-known Cococciola is a work in progress. However, it is encouraging that our knowledge of Abruzzo’s varieties is far better today than it has ever been; it is undeniable that Pecorino has been a remarkable success story and that Trebbiano Abruzzese’s charms are being increasingly appreciated by wine lovers and experts alike. Just as important is the understanding that speaking of Trebbiano grapes and wines generically is not just useless but wrong: there’s really no such thing as a “Trebbiano.” In Italy, there are at least seven different Trebbiano varieties, and they all yield very different wines.

The second key factor has been improvements in both vineyard and cellar techniques tailored to each variety, which are now allowing each cultivar to show what it has to offer to fullest effect. Clearly, this is an essential step in the production of wines that might turn out to be remarkable not just for being different but possibly for world-class quality too. The best example of this positive development in modern-day Abruzzo wine is Montepulciano, the wines of which have never been as good as they are today. Growers now understand that this cultivar benefits from the longest hang time possible, as Montepulciano’s pips have tannins that reach physiological maturity only very late in the season. Furthermore, while Montepulciano wines were once aged in oak—and even barrel-fermented—to increase oxygenation in an effort to reduce gamey and funky aromas and flavors (Montepulciano is a highly reductive variety), nowadays much more stringent selection of healthier grapes with intact skins as well as lower and steadier fermentation temperatures have helped to produce cleaner wines.