Abruzzo
and Molise Coming of AgeBY IAN D’AGATA | AUGUST 23, 2016 Once
widely viewed as the source of nothing more than hearty red wines and
inexpensive, inoffensive whites, Abruzzo and Molise are on the upswing. The
wine scene in Abruzzo, long a sleeping giant of Italian wine, is especially
exciting today. Even
in Italy the regions of Abruzzo and Molise are often lumped together, but in
fact they differ in many aspects, with viticulture being just one example. Generalizing
broadly, in Abruzzo there are three main native grapes (Montepulciano,
Trebbiano Abruzzese and Pecorino) and three fundamental denominazioni (Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo), while in Molise international varieties play a much more
important role—typical of virtually every wine region in which quality
viticulture and winemaking have become a staple only in the last 100 years or
so. Therefore, varietally labelled Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon
Blanc wines are more commonly associated with Molise than Abruzzo. In fact, the
two most typical native grape varieties of Molise, the still relatively unknown
Cococciola (a white grape) and the extremely interesting and potentially very
high-quality Tintilia (a red), have only started being the object of study and
serious wines in the last 10 to 20 years.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1472077257560-tendone+abruzzese+article.jpg"> 

A typical tendone Abruzzese canopyEntering the 21st Century

Make
no mistake about it: Abruzzo, long a sort of sleeping giant of Italian wine in
which producers were content with making big, hearty reds and inoffensive,
simple whites with no staying power, is fast becoming one of Italy’s most
exciting wine destinations. As I wrote in last year’s review of Abruzzo’s
wines, new, a more sophisticated younger generation has been taking over at family
wineries and the improvement in the wines has been dramatic. Completely
forgotten varieties such as Pecorino and Passerina have been saved from
oblivion, and these cultivars today are being used to make some Italy’s most
popular white wines. This is especially true of the former variety, but the
flip side to this great story is that Pecorino, much like Pinot Grigio before
it, is fast becoming a victim of its own success. Today there are far too many
wines on the market labeled Pecorino that are redolent of tropical fruits, when
in fact well-made Pecorino wines should not feature banana, pineapple, mango
and other exotic fruit aromas and flavors. Rather, the variety should give more
nuanced wines that are reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc, but with bigger structures
and generally higher alcohol levels.

Another
enticing aspect of Abruzzo wine today is that many estates are now looking to
buy or rent vineyards higher up in the mountains in the region’s interior, as
opposed to insisting on the flatland, seaside viticulture that was typical in
the past. It’s not by chance that a famous producer like Masciarelli now also
culls grapes from higher-altitude areas such as Capestrano (roughly 1,500 feet
above sea level), or that Adolfo De Cecco, scion of the famous pasta-making
family, has chosen to rent his vineyards near Ofena, another mountainous
viticultural zone. And in keeping with the fresher, more modern and global
outlook of the members of his younger generation, De Cecco has hired Thomas
Duroux of Margaux’s Château Palmer as his consulting winemaker.&nbsp;

In
another sign of a winemaking philosophy more in tune with modern practices,
many Abruzzo estates are shying away from aging Montepulciano in small oak
barrels, or are using them much more judiciously than in the past. Last but not
least, an epochal change in Abruzzo wine is the increasing importance that
white wine is starting to play in the region, with many estates now producing
wines from the likes of Passerina, Moscato di Castiglione (a local biotype of
Moscato Bianco) and even Montonico. I have no doubt whatsoever that today
Abruzzo is one of the regions in Italy to watch most closely, and a place where
excellent wines can already be found for a fraction of the cost of wines of
similar quality made elsewhere in the country.

In
Molise, greater care is being taken than in the past to matching grape varieties&nbsp;with
the most suitable microclimates and terroirs&nbsp;—&nbsp;such as planting&nbsp;Sauvignon Blanc at higher altitude—and to taming Tintilia’s noteworthy tannic
power, with increasingly outstanding results. Molise’s climb to wine
respectability is a recent event, so the region’s wines are still a work in
progress, but there are enough encouraging signs (and small dedicated family
wineries cropping up all the time) to allow enophiles to hold out hope for the
region’s wine future. Of course, only time will tell.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1471896310066-abruzzo+vineyards+copy.JPG"> 

Recent Vintages in Abruzzo and
Molise

Overall, 2015 was a very good to outstanding year, with copious springtime
rain allowing for the build-up of water reserves. July, August and September
were extremely warm and completely rain-free, so disease pressure was
practically nonexistent. The main problem during the 2015 growing
season was the possibility of water stress, but in fact this issue plagued only
certain areas on sandy soils near the coast and younger vines in general. In
fact, although grape production was down by as much as 20% in specific areas,
the majority of Abruzzo’s diverse terroirs fared well, and overall production
in the region was actually up 5% from the previous year. The harvest took place,
on average, ten days earlier than usual because the last week of August was
especially hot, with daytime temperatures reaching or exceeding 40 degrees C (104 degrees F.)&nbsp;on
several days. Overall, the vintage is a much better one for red wines than for whites,
which are often a little flabby, and for Rosato and Cerasuolo wines, which lack
freshness and precision for the most part.

By contrast, 2014 qualifies as a very wet year, one in which rain started
early and essentially never let up. Actually, white and Rosato wines have turned
out much more lively and fragrant than expected, while the vintage’s reds can
be marred by tough, unripe polyphenols. But most 2014s show signs of dilution.

The 2013 vintage was characterized by an
especially cool and rainy spring, with berry shatter all too common during the
flowering, but the weather then turned stable for much of the summer. The
growing season was longer than average, allowing for greater hang time and
potentially noteworthy reds. However, September rainfall posed a problem for
those producers who harvested too quickly rather than waiting out the bad
weather.

Finally, the 2012 vintage was better in
Abruzzo than in many other Italian regions, where it was often just too hot. Winter
and spring rainfall allowed for good water reserves in the ground, so that
Abruzzo withstood 2012’s at-times very intense summer heat better than
elsewhere in the country. (Please refer to the Vinous vintage charts under the
Tools tab on this site for additional information on older vintages in this
region).

I tasted the wines reviewed in this article in the cellars and at my home
in Rome in April and May.

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