Villa Medoro, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, 2008

Villa Medoro, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, 2008

Neither my co-rambler Torsten nor I have so far been able to warm significantly to Italian reds, especially those from the middle and south of the country. We have our reasons, mainly the predominance of plummy, raisiny fruit and a certain undeniably flabbyness that we think we found in those we have tasted, but to lovers of those regions I'm sure it proves that we are no less capable of prejudice-fuelled wine ignorance than the next drinker. What follows, then, is a little outside of the usual mould of Wine Rambler reviews.

It is to make amends, in a way, but it's also very much a public service announcement: Enjoyable Italian red ahead!

The Villa Medoro, made from the Montepulciano grape (which has nothing to do with the town of Montepulciano in Tuscany, nor with its famous sangiovese-based Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) offers much that is to like: Dark, purple-tinged red colour, very ripe nose of berries and caramelised sugar. Inviting cherry and strawberry fruit, blueberries as well, raisiny, yes, but with good acidity, plump, yes, but ultimately not flabby thanks to a dose of rustic tannin. An unpretentious and quite enjoyable Bolognese companion. Why producers would put out such a wine with rotten plastic cork instead of a proper screwcap I'll never understand, but otherwise: Good deal.

Comments

Submitted by torsten Saturday, 07/05/2011

It does indeed sound like a very good deal - a wine in the "drink every day" price range that delivers a little more than that. I also like how the photo delivers a little more, on account of both being good and showing a tiny person sitting next to the table were it was taken... Anyway, Italy still remains my mystery wine country, with such an amazing range of grape varieties and styles, but also a mass of plonk that makes it harder for the uninitiated to find the gems. Well, there are some gems I am only too well aware of, but they are priced way beyond the every day, or even every month price level...

Submitted by Sabine Friday, 13/05/2011

In reply to by torsten

Oh yes, Torsten, it's the little one. However, I wouldn't call him tiny.
But you can always blame the curved bottle, of course. A person's reflections on a bottle never look very winningly..