Bove Indio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2022
£14.95
The wine
Intense aromatic notes of prune, bitter cherry, liquorice and warm spice are layered with delicate vanilla, coffee, chocolate and balsamic overtones. Full flavoured and opulent, with charmingly structured tannins and a bold yet elegant finish.
The estate's most serious Montepulciano, given extended oak ageing and released with some age. The variety has enough colour and tannin to carry barrel work, and time develops the leather and dried-fruit character that the young wines do not show. Abruzzo remains substantially undervalued for wines of this quality.
The producer
Bove farm in Abruzzo, on the Adriatic side of central Italy where the Apennines fall steeply towards the sea. The estate works Montepulciano and Pecorino, the region's two defining grapes.
Abruzzo is unusual in Italy for how much of it is protected: roughly a third of the region lies within national parks, and the mountains behind the vineyards hold snow well into spring. That proximity of high peaks to warm coast gives strong day-to-night temperature swings, which is what keeps Montepulciano fresh in a climate that could easily make it heavy.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is not to be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is Sangiovese from a Tuscan town. The grape gives deep colour, soft tannin and generous dark fruit, and it is one of the most reliable value reds in Italy. Pecorino, the white, had almost disappeared by the 1980s before growers recognised its quality.
