Deep ruby color; blackberry, plum, black cherry, raspberry, vanilla, oak, smoke, spice on the nose and palate.
Dry; tasty, ripe tannins and balancing acidity. Medium body. Smooth, tasty, polite easy drinker. Fairly simple, but that is its charm—you don’t have to over-think this pour, just enjoy. Good value, too. 13% ABV
Montepulciano is classic grape of central Italy, most prominently in Abruzzo, where this wine is made. This wine is 100% montepulciano, the major grape in the Abruzzo region of eastern Italy, east of Rome; the Apennine Mountains are the western border, the Adriatic Sea the eastern border.
The Caldora Winery is located in Abruzzo on the Adriatic and is part of the Fantini group. Abruzzo is often described as an endless vineyard from the mountains to the Adriatic. It has two main appellations: Teramo and Chieti. Caldora has a special arrangement with the many growers who own more than 3,700 acres of land in the two coastal provinces of Teramo to the north and Chieti to the south.
The grapes for this wine are sourced from Chieti. The vineyards are near the towns of Ortona, San Salvo, and Pollutri. Caldora carefully selects the best portions of each vineyard depending on clones, position in the vineyard and age of vines. They then direct the farming of these vineyard rows including reducing the yield per vine, to ensure the highest quality grapes. This arrangement means they are not actually buying grapes, but rather renting vineyards or portions of vineyards.
All grapes are hand-harvested and manually selected. There is delicate crushing and de-stemming, then comes cold maceration for four days to extract color and enhance tannin. Fermented in steel tanks, followed by at least nine months in oak.
Caldora Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC 2020 is very approachable dark-fruit wine. Agreeable tannins and acidity. Inviting, smooth easy drinker with ripe fruit sweetness—not from residual sugar. Versatile, very good value. Pair with sausage—the classic pairing with montepulciano; salami; rich, savory beef dishes—beef dolognese, brisket, meatloaf, barbecue, meat-lover pizza; fatty beef hamburgers; roasted pork shoulder; Italian fare, especially with tomato-based sauces; lamb. Cheese—parmesan, monterey jack, cheddar, cacioricotta, pampanella, caciocavallo abruzzese. $14-17
U.S. importer website for Caldora
