Italo Pietrantonj 'Black Label' Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2022 (750 ml)

100% Montepulciano
Fermentation Stainless steel, Selected yeasts
Aging 6-8 months in Slovonian oak 40 HL vats, neutral 
Filter / Fining None
ABV 13%
Farming Methods Vertical trellised, Guyot

The 2022 ‘Black Label’ Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a wine made in the traditional style as homage to the old family winery. After a slow fermentation, the wine is aged in large oak vats for 8 months, which offers sweet spice flavors of anise and dried tobacco in the mouth with a hint of cocoa on the finish, and then bottled. It is a lovely wine full of dried floral and fruit notes complemented by soft leather and earthy aromas offering plenty of full flavors yet staying very pure and fresh so that the fruit is not masked, nor is too heavy in body. It is a lovely accompaniment to all sorts of game, as well as pasta dishes with hearty sauces.
 
‘The Pietrantonj production philosophy dictates that the maturation of red wines is carried out in oak casks of medium and large capacity, in order to ensure that the qualities of the grape are faithfully preserved’

With records dating back to 1791, and an official start in 1830, the house of Italo Pietrantonj is as old as it gets for wineries from Abruzzo (literally the oldest). Eight winemaking generations deep and in the town of Vittorita, Pietrantonj is rich with family heritage and tradition. The winery is now run by two sisters, Roberta and Alice, whose great-great-great grandfather Niccolo was the first certified winemaker in the Abruzzo region, gaining a diploma from the Royal School of Conegliano Veneto in 1889. The estate farms just over 60 hectares of estate vineyards high up in the rolling hills of the Apinine Mountains. To this day, the house shows off its 9,500 gallon oak and walnut barrels (now lined with stainless steel for preservation and continued use) from 1870, and two 37,000 gallon tanks lined with beautiful Murano tiles that were built in 1893. A house with as much history as their wines have depth and intrigue, the classic wines of Pietrantonj are not to be missed.

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