I'm sure there there is not-so-good Montepulciano d'Abruzzo out there - but I can't recall ever having one. Of course, I don't remember much about any wines I tasted before I really learned to taste. But this wine from Masciarelli certainly upholds my vision of Montelpulciano as a delicious wine.
It's dark, dark, dark in the glass, in fact a completely opaque ruby. Luckily I gave it a sniff before the chicken roasting in the often started to overpower it (wine may smell like many thinks, but chicken isn't generally a desired aroma). There are dark chocolate-covered cherries in this glass, some earth as well, though the aroma isn't intense - it's clear, but like I'm smelling it from far away, as a member of my tasting group said today (about a different wine). The chocolate is likely the influence of oak-aging, which can also impart vanilla, toasty, buttery, and caramel aromas and tastes, depending on the age of the barrel, the grape varietal, the level of charring in the oak, etc.
I think part of the reason I can't get a lot of aroma out of the wine (which is also making it hard to taste much) is that...it's really cold in my apartment and I think the wine would be a lot more expressive if I bit the bullet and turned up the heat. But....I'd rather spend my money on wine than gas bills....
The palate is quite dominated by some firm, scratchy tannins, which I think would have mellowed out a bit if I had opened the wine a year ot two from now. Right now, they're making my lips stick to my teeth and I'm wishing that chicken would hurry up and roast so I had something to eat with the wine. Ooooh, or maybe some nice pasta with marinara and spicy sausages....mmmmmmm.... The wine also has some pronounced acid that is making me pucker, but it's fairly well balanced out by some juicy red fruit and - believe it or not - black olives - on the finish.
Overall, a wine with excellent structure and potential to pair really well with a rich, Italian dish. By itself, the acid and tannins are kind of hurting me. Must go in search of cheese. I give it an 84.
No comments:
Post a Comment