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2001 Fattoria La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Binomio |
| Vintage | 2001 |  Label 1 of 6   | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Fattoria La Valentina (web) | ||
| Variety | Montepulciano | ||
| Designation | Binomio | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | Italy | ||
| Region | Abruzzi | ||
| SubRegion | n/a | ||
| Appellation | Montepulciano d'Abruzzo |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average 89.4 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 33 notes) | |
| Tasted by Icarus on 1/21/2010 & rated 91 points: No notes taken. Served with a homemade pasta dish. Everyone loved this. I thought it had a bit of VA lurking behind the very dark fruit and was a bit rustic, but was very still pleasant paired with the meal. (119 views) | |
| Tasted by KSWinegeek on 9/25/2009 & rated 88 points: Back to my original impression. Very dark, intriguing nose. Complex, but off (342 views) | |
| Tasted by Moorese on 8/29/2009 & rated 90 points: This is my second taste of this wine, although it's the first of my stash to get opened. My original impression was that this was a reaonably fine wine ruined by heavy-handed oak treatment. It's still aggressive in that regard, but now it seems stylistic instead of an outright flaw. Black cherries, almond roca, flowers, charcoal briquettes. Dark, ripe, dense, chewy, and chocolatey with impressive concentration, but a still firm, tannic spine. This is a big wine that I'm really enjoying (especially considering my preconception), but it still loses ground with me because of the wood. But I'm looking forward to the remainder of my stash instead of contemplating putting them on the block. (392 views) | |
| Tasted by RR47 on 8/3/2009 & rated 90 points: 1st bottle from 6 pack in cellar. Deep red almost black. Blackberries and violets the moment the cork popped. A massive wine. Certainly needed time to open, then cassis, tobacco, earth, and oak with firm (not puckering) tannins on a long finish. Seemed a bit chunky, but with time it smoothed out. (485 views) | |
| Tasted by futronic on 3/25/2009 & rated 91 points: Decanted ~2 hours. Dark ruby colour. Huge, porty nose of raisins, prunes, chocolate, cherry, oak, caramel. Full-bodied, still pretty tannic and restrained, but it does show some chocolate, raisins, and prunes with more air. Moderate-length finish. I'll keep holding my remaining bottles. Try again in a couple years. (586 views) | |
| Tasted by KSWinegeek on 2/13/2009 & rated 94 points: I had tried this wine four other times over the years and was not particularily impressed and thought the WS 95 rating was not justified. The bottle I had a few days ago changed my opinion. Was blown away with the nose, body, finish and distinctiveness of this wine. The tannins were significantly reduced as evidenced by the excessive amount of sediment. Regrettably, I only have one bottle left. (670 views) | |
| Tasted by vanpe003 on 12/13/2008 & rated 91 points: Nose has aromas of smooth oak, dark fruit and beef bullion. Much of the same on the palate, which is much smoother than a bottle from a couple years ago. That said, this still seems to need more time to really come together completely. A bit short on the finish, and could use just a bit more depth of fruit, but I won't be surprised if both are corrected with more time. (715 views) | |
| Tasted by Outlier on 11/2/2008 & rated 92 points: One of the most bizzare wines I've ever had, and I don't mean that in a bad way, necessarily - just very different, and interesting. I've had a few of these over the last two or three years, but this one is more complex and developed. Worth a try for sure. I wish I had more of it. (770 views) | |
| Tasted by Employee500 on 7/23/2008 & rated 90 points: Wow, this was cut from a different cloth. Not what I'm looking for in an Italian wine, this tasted like a very youthful California Syrah! Notwithstanding, it was a lot more drinkable than the last 3-4 bottles of this I've had....odd. (848 views) | |
| Tasted by Employee500 on 7/23/2008 flawed bottle: corked (837 views) | |
| Tasted by neb on 6/3/2008: Last bottle. Good stuff this time, the alcohol is high but, contrary to my last note, there is enough material to balance it. Dark fruit, beginning to show some dusty leather, subtle iodine note. Very tasty. Still a huge wine but doesn't overwhelm the food like our first bottle did. (972 views) | |
| Tasted by Guitar George on 4/28/2008 & rated 91 points: Not much to add to my previous note other than this could still use some more time. If I can wait this will be outstanding in another couple of years. (1149 views) | |
| Tasted by Icarus on 3/22/2008 & rated 91 points: No notes taken. Served with chicken marsala. The nose gave a stern expression of dark fruit, prune/plum and mineral. Good concentration in the mouth. A bit rough/rustic but good flavor intensity. This was a crowd pleaser. (1303 views) | |
| Tasted by neb on 2/24/2008: Very different impression from the previous bottle. Way hot, to the point of distraction. Fruit seemed a bit overripe to my taste as well. (1225 views) | |
| Tasted by BennetM on 1/25/2008 & rated 89 points: (991 views) | |
| Tasted by Employee500 on 1/16/2008 & rated 85 points: Really not my cup of tea--distinctly hot....."big" with lots of fruit and tannin, but unfocused flavors. The kind of wine that "impressed" some on first taste, but really not very drinkable. (1355 views) | |
| Tasted by Outlier on 11/1/2007 & rated 92 points: (1121 views) | |
| Tasted by Bruno on 10/7/2007: Will not rate, as I will only assume I had an off bottle. Not much on the nose, but a funky hint of cooked prunes and alcohol. Fortunately it tasted (a bit) better than it smelled. Cooked prunes and hotness carried over to the palate as well. Hot, tannic finish. Really quite wretched. The cork was totally dried out so, again, I will assume it was merely a bad bottle. Will try my other bottle in a few years (assuming the cork on that one hasn't turned to dust by then). (1503 views) | |
| Tasted by Outlier on 8/25/2007 & rated 92 points: (1176 views) | |
| Tasted by Guitar George on 6/5/2007 & rated 91 points: Though this wine could use more time I thought it excellent with significant promise. This is a meaty grab a hold and take a bite out of this wine. Tight at first and tannic. But with time (second day) opened up nicely. Nice arome with inky color. Tastes that are complex and will only become moreso. I am looking forward to enjoying this over the next several years. (1719 views) | |
| Tasted by slippytoad on 6/4/2007 & rated 88 points: This wine just isn't ready. Should have given it a few more years: way too tannic and hard on the palate. Shows potential though, good structure. (1791 views) | |
| Tasted by Employee500 on 5/28/2007 & rated 89 points: Significantly better than the last bottle (recently tasted from the same source)....I can only chalk it up to bottle variation. Anyway, still too hot (needed to be constantly re-cooled to about 65-66 degrees to negate this), but had a really nice rich Sangio-fruit (dark cherry, spice) character and good concentration while maintaining strong acidity. Really the heat was my only complaint (but a significant one) and without it this wine could be really terrific. (1769 views) | |
| Tasted by slippytoad on 3/29/2007 & rated 88 points: Dissapointing as it doesn't seem ready. Never really opened up and was big and plain all night. Should wait at least a year and then decant all day before drinking the next bottle. (1875 views) | |
| Tasted by Employee500 on 3/25/2007 & rated 75 points: Too dense and dark to try to enjoy really even taste anything but "dark fruit" and tannin...Seems to have real acidity at least. After a small 3-oz pour, I'll set the rest back in the cellar for 2-3 days and see if it becomes any more transparent or expressive. 3-days later this smells of alcohol (almost brandy-like) and has nothing but bitter flavors. Yuck.... (1885 views) | |
| Tasted by futronic on 10/14/2006 & rated 93 points: Post-Auction Offline (Toba Restaurant, Toronto, Canada): Inky ruby/black colour; opaque. Aromas of black licorice, blackberries, alcohol, spice, black plums, and a hint of iodine. Slightly Porty/Amarone-eske early on with a touch of raisins on the nose. Full-bodied, massive, lots of tannin, with spice, blackberry fruit, dried flowers, and alcohol on the palate. Port/raisin notes come through on the long, 40-45s finish, joined by black fruit, truffle, and spice. Tannic on the back end. Needs time as 5-6 hours of air was not nearly enough. Still 93-94 points, though. (2553 views) | |
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About red wine For more information on this varietal, please visit: Varietal character (Appellation America) Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctor Abruzzi (Italianmade.com) From Wikipedia: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is a type of wine grape as well as a type of red wine made from these same grapes in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy. The grape is however recommended for 20 of Italy's 95 provinces. Up to 10% Sangiovese is permitted to be added to the blend. It is typically a fruity, dry wine with soft tannins, and as such is often consumed young. If aged by the winery for more than two years, the wine may be labelled "Riserva." This wine should not be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a Tuscan wine made from Sangiovese and other grapes, but not the Montepulciano variety. The quality of Montepulciano wines produced in Abruzzo (especially in the provinces of Pescara and Chieti) has been constantly improving in the last ten years, making Abruzzi, once a backwater in winemaking, one of the most interesting locales in the Italian scene. It is blended with the grape Ciliegolo to make the wine Torgiano. It is also used as the primary grape in Rosso Conero DOCG and is a major part of the Rosso Piceno DOC blend. Over the past few years the Montepulciano variety has been successfully introduced into Australia. For more information, please visit: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Italianmade.com) |
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