2014 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Mazzamurello

Adriana Galasso and Fausto Albanesi, owners of Torre dei Beati, finally got around to planting a new vineyard (3.5 hectares of Montepulciano and 0.5 hectares of Pecorino) in the area of Scannella, land they owned since 2004 (“We like to think things through” joked Albanesi). It’s an interesting, high quality site located at a relatively high altitude area (330 meters above sea level) characterized by a clay-rich topsoil and compact sands down below that allows for very good drainage. Their hope is that this vineyard might one day allow them to produce a new Montepulciano d’Abruzzo cru to join their famous Mazzamurello and Cocciapazza crus. They expect the new wine to have more or less the same structure of those two big wines but perhaps greater freshness.