Tenuta Giuliano Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2023

	superior quality Abruzzo with roundness and strength
	outperforms the often rustic, harsh-tasting competitors
	organic, small vineyard with healthy and ripe grapes
	suitable outside of meals and delicious with tasty dishes

Giuliano Montepulciano

A powerful Italian red wine with aromas of herbs, light oak, and abundant ripe red fruit. The palate is soft and full-bodied. Delicious with fragrant meat and pasta dishes or mild cheeses.

Collefrisio Vignaquadra Montepulciano

The eastern Italian wine region of Abruzzo is potentially a fantastic source of powerful yet soft red wines. Yet, the many cooperatives in this area often produce unrefined and sometimes even rough wines.

Tenuta Giuliano shows that things can be done differently. Amadeo De Luca and Antonio Patricelli have rapidly risen to the ranks of the region's best winemakers with this small, artisanal azienda.

Their eleven hectares of lush vineyards are situated in the foothills of the Majella. This is the second-highest massif in the Apennines, peaked at 2,793 meters by Monte Amaro. Here, the Montepulciano grapes are harvested late. Their fully organic vineyards produce a deep-colored, full-bodied, and supple red wine with excellent flavor balance.

In short, a striking example of a beautiful wine from a less "fancy" region. Thanks in part to its modest provenance, the price-performance ratio is truly outstanding.

Drinking at

Delicious wine with fragrant meat and pasta dishes or with mild cheeses.

Awards

Mention
2018 Omfietswijngids: Omfietswijn | 4 glasses | Grab it off the shelf without further ado

Description
Montepulciano, the grape of Abruzzo, can be pleasantly rustic, but I didn't expect such old-world opulence. Generous and rich.

Mention
2017 Omfietswijngids: Omfietswijn | 4 glasses | Grab it off the shelf without further ado

Description
Such a generous and rich-tasting Montepulciano, I wondered if the label wasn't a mistake. Montepulciano can be pleasantly rustic, but I hadn't expected such old-world opulence. The whole thing is wrapped in sturdy wood, something that can often go wrong, giving the wine aromas of sawdust and vanilla, but here it's perfectly balanced, a robust oak amidst all that robust fruit.

Mention
Perswijn - March/April 2017: ***(*) Good