Red wines from 35 euros onwards

A red in which tradition meets innovation: deep, complex and persistent, with notes of black cherry, blackberry, liquorice, dark chocolate and sweet spices. A Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with Tre Bicchieri, sublime from its very first release in 1992.

The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Doc Mazzamurello – Torre dei Beati is an extraordinary wine that fully represents the true Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. It has remarkable structure, persistence, and balance. The technique of working on fine lees, which gives the wine characteristics of natural stability, enriches the rich array of fruit with floral and spicy aromas of great elegance, introducing a fresh gustatory depth capable of motivating a long progression and intriguing drinkability.
An organic wine obtained using the particular technique of working on fine lees to which the best batches of the vintage are subjected. The aromatic peculiarities linked to this technique, which sometimes manifest in quite an unusual way for a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo during maturation in wood, recall the name of this playful sprite from Abruzzese tradition: "Il Mazzamurello", imagined hiding among barriques playing with the wine. Passion and love for viticulture, perfect clay-limestone soils, and unique pedoclimatic conditions give life to a simply excellent wine.
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Ingredients: 100% Montepulciano grapes.

The Sant'Eusanio vineyard is a small garden of vines surrounded by pine woods. It is located in the highest and coldest area of the whole Valle Reale estate at 497 m above sea level.
The north-facing exposure, the stony soil and the wide temperature swings between day and night are at the limit for the ripening of Montepulciano, to the point of making it a unique wine. It is an uncompromising expression of mountain Montepulciano and speaks the brisk language of acidity and freshness combined with a balanced structure. The vines were planted in spring 2002. The Montepulciano from the Sant’Eusanio vineyard was produced for the first time in 2009, with spontaneous fermentation. In the right vintages it represents, in its apparent simplicity, the most elegant wine in our production.
The climate change affecting our area causes damage or benefits depending on the situation it impacts. While it is true that in the past it was almost impossible to think of reaching phenolic ripeness at Sant’Eusanio, today climate change helps us here. This is an extraordinarily powerful vintage for Sant’Eusanio, yet it does not alter its fine and elegant nature. The typical and familiar acidity and fragrance that this parcel gives us are combined with a balanced structure thanks to the warm vintage. The Sant’Eusanio vineyard is a wine that ferments in stainless steel and remains in contact with its lees for one year. It is then aged in bottle for 8 months without being filtered.

The Vigna del Convento is the latest CRU, carved out within the area of the vineyards planted in the municipality of Capestrano; the land was once cultivated with vines and vegetable gardens, belonging to the ancient Convent of San Francesco, built from the mid-15th century on a hill overlooking the small village of Capestrano.
Poor soil rich in stones, but with a good clay component. In 2003 the vineyard faced the hottest harvest in the last hundred years. The microclimate, very different from that of the Popoli plateau, is warm and windy, balanced by the right amount of humidity thanks to the small lake of Capestrano, which is why the grapes from this vineyard ripen earlier. With the 2018 harvest, in the Vigna del Convento parcel, phenolic ripeness was reached that made it possible to produce this wine for the third time in twenty years. The very concentrated grapes, perfect for the vinification method using only wood, in 50 quintal Garbellotto barrels, gave us a wine of great longevity, body and structure, alongside excellent verticality and great elegance. The bouquet is complex, with pronounced herbal notes, and the tannin is elegant yet present.

Made from Montepulciano grapes from a single 30-year-old vineyard, harvested at the end of October with a yield of around 60 quintals per hectare. It ferments spontaneously in stainless steel, with the help of pied de cuve, where it macerates for around 30 days. It is aged in large casks (20 hl) and tonneaux for 14 months.

designation: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC
vintage: 2019
alcohol content: 13.5% vol.
volume: 0.75 L
number of bottles produced: 3540

Colour: Deep ruby red with violet reflections. Nose: The aromatic panorama is broad, with immediate floral scents of rose and fruity notes of berries (particularly blueberry jam), followed by spicy hints of liquorice, cumin, white pepper, and mineral notes of graphite stretching across the horizon. Taste: A decidedly substantial and voluminous sip, yet dynamic and characterised by a flavour rhythm dictated by vital tannins and vibrant freshness.

Testarossa Rosso Riserva is produced using only Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grapes, which give it its eponymous designation and a multitude of aromas ranging from fruit to spices. The production process begins with crushing the grapes and fermentation, continues with racking, and ends with ageing in oak barrels. The origin of its name comes from the old nickname of the Pasetti founders and the women of the company, all of whom had red hair.

Testarossa Rosso Riserva is characterised by an intense ruby colour and pleasant notes of blackberries, blueberries, tobacco, vanilla and cinnamon; the taste is smooth, warm and of good persistence.

Production area: Abruzzo

Vintage: 2020

Alcohol: 15%

Capacity: 150 cl

Producer: Pasetti

Grape variety: Montepulciano d' Abruzzo

Designation: Montepulciano d' Abruzzo DOC

Recommended pairings: Testarossa Rosso Riserva pairs perfectly with red meats, mature cheeses, tripe and mozzarella.

It is a refined wine that comes from a true locus amoenus, where the rows stretch out in front of the ruins of a cave cellar dating back to around 1300. Here the Benedictine monks, descending from the convent in San Benedetto in Perillis, a tiny village clinging to the mountains behind Valle Reale, made and stored their wine.

A wine that comes from grapes of great quality and aromatic intensity. Deep ruby red in colour, with aromas of berries, red fruit and spices. On the palate it impresses with its structure and persistence, with good savouriness.

The “Vigneto di Popoli” wine is one of Valle Reale’s flagship labels, made from vines that are around 70 years old, grown on calcareous-clay soils. Fermentation takes place in steel tanks with only indigenous yeasts and maceration on the skins for around 10 days. Before bottling, the wine matures in French oak tonneaux for a period of around 12 months.

Vigneto di Popoli is the 1-hectare parcel dedicated to Trebbiano d'Abruzzo; further south lies the larger vineyard reserved for Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. The Montepulciano from Vigneto di Popoli is the offspring of the estate’s oldest vineyard. All the rows face south-east towards the Majella and the Morrone Mountains and benefit from the presence of a dense oak forest that borders them to the west.

The land, as with the entire plateau near Popoli, lies at 350 metres above sea level. The woodland surrounding the vineyard is rich in plant species, tall trees, shrubs and flowers, which thrive thanks to the healthy air and the purity of the waters from the source of the Pescara river that flows beneath the vineyard soil. The integrity of this environment encourages the development of native yeast strains.

Walking among these vineyards, encounters with the wildlife that inhabits these mountains are not uncommon, from deer to badgers and foxes, right through to the exceptional sightings of some wolves.