The Abruzzo wine region in Italy with over 65% of the region being mountainous. The Apennines peaks actually reach up to 9000 feet above sea level. The region lies between the foothills of the Apennines to the Adriatic Coast. The vineyards on the hillside are planted on calcareous clay that benefits from significant sun exposure that is ventilated thanks to the dry breezes from the Adriatic. All four provinces produce Montepulciano, Chieti, L’Aquila, Pescara, and Teramo. The southern province, Chieti, produces the largest quantity of wine. L’Aquila, which is the most mountainous province, produces a dry rose, which is labeled Cerasuolo. The most favored vineyards are in Pescara and Teramo, which is located in the north. These two provinces have more ferrous clay and limestone and are less fertile. The cooler climates produce the most concentrated wines. There were about 18,000 acres of wine vineyards in 2004.
The wine of Abruzzo is often a deep colored red with spice and pepper notes, and can be described as rustic. These wines are highly aromatic with an almost syrupy, thick mouth feel.
In the late 20th and early 21st century, Abruzzo earned the reputation of having the most exported wines in Italy.
Cortenova Montepulciano d' Abruzzo is made from 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Deep ruby red color with violet highlights and a pleasant and fruity bouquet. Full bodied, soft tannins and good acidity.
Excellent with pasta dishes and red meats.
Cortenova Montepulciano d' Abruzzo is made from 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Deep ruby red color with violet highlights and a pleasant and fruity bouquet. Full bodied, soft tannins and good acidity.
Excellent with pasta dishes and red meats.
Long Shadows Sequel Syrah is made from 95% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
An intensely colored wine with spicy aromas of cassis, smoked meats and a hint of olive tapenade woven throughout layers of black currant, blueberry and a trace of licorice. Wonderfully balanced, with a broad mouth-feel and soft tannins that hold together seamlessly.
Winemaking: Syrah’s delicate skin requires gentle handling during fermentation to extract richness without imparting bitter tannins, so winemaker John Duval uses a variety of techniques to produce a wide spectrum of flavors. A portion of the grapes were fermented using an Australian method known as “rack and return” that requires draining the tank twice daily and gently putting the juice back over the top of the skins. Whole-cluster fermentation was also used to enhance richness and dimension on the palate. Lastly, some of the lots underwent submerged cap fermentation to add structure and enhance the mouthfeel of the finished wine. Aged 18 months in 100% French oak barrels, 65% new.
Review:
Loads of black fruits, smoked game, liquid violets, and cracked pepper notes emerge from the 2018 Syrah Sequel, which has gorgeous Syrah wildness and gaminess, full-bodied richness, a pure, elegant, seamless texture, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Count me impressed. You could safely put this up with the best Syrah coming out of Washington and California.
-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points
Mt Monster Shiraz is 100 percent Shiraz
Deep purple in color. Ripe cassis and black plum fruits on the nose with violets. Varietal fruit-driven palate, with cassis and dark berryfruit and spice flavors. Soft tannins compliment the fruit with mouth-filling generous finish.
French & American oak has been used sparingly to ensure maximum fruit expression is retained in the final wine.
Our Shiraz is fermented in static fermenters at controlled temperatures to retain the varietal aromatics. Once complete the wine is left for 7–10 days on skins to aide in the extraction of soft fleshy tannins and build wine structure.