2020 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Le Vigne, Faraone, Abruzzo, Italy

2020 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Le Vigne, Faraone, Abruzzo, Italy

Product: 20201717484
Prices start from £17.00 per bottle (75cl). Buying options
2020 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Le Vigne, Faraone, Abruzzo, Italy

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Description

This is the pride of Faraone’s range, made from a 20-year-old single vineyard on the hills above the winery. Using 100% free-run juice, Federico then gives the wine skin-contact for two days, adding complexity and richness. The nose transports you to the Adriatic coast: salty sea breeze, white flowers, wild herbs and lemon trees. The palate is full of fleshy yellow peaches, nutty brown apples, pithy citrus and zappy mineral freshness. This is cleverly crafted and utterly charming. Enjoy it with white fish and salsa verde.

Drink 2023 - 2028

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

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About this WINE

Faraone, Abruzzo

Faraone, Abruzzo

The Faraone family produces traditional Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines. Their 9ha property is now focused on the new ‘Collepietro’ vineyard at Mosciano Sant’Angelo in the Colline Teramane DOCG zone of Abruzzo, some 10 miles from the Adriatic.

Faraone’s story dates back to 1916, and particularly to the 1930s when Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Passerina were first planted; bottling started in 1970. Giovanni Faraone makes the wine, aided by his wife Paola & sons Alfonso & Federico; the latter an oenologist who’s worked in France and New Zealand before taking up a post in Umbria. They also make a fine Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Passerina and Pecorino.

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Abruzzo

Abruzzo

Abruzzi (Abruzzo) is an eastern Italian province. Although it remains insignificant in terms of the fine wine market, it is important quantitatively, drawing most of its wine production from the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grape.

Since 2003 there’s been a rash of new, grape growers-turned bottlers, spurred on by the region’s first DOCG Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane, but it’s clear that many lack the knowhow/heritage to do this professionally or they’re hiring in expensive consultants to fast-forward/pay off the bank loan, often ending up with boringly international, overly technical wines (while still keeping a large foot in the bulk market).

There is a definite move back to autochthonous grapes as producers grapple with climate change, believing, as others in Italy, that these grapes are better equipped to deal with the meteorological extremes. According to Valentini, the traditional high tendone/pergola abruzzese form of trellising seems better placed to cope with these hotter climes, shielding the fruit and supporting acidities (echoed in Valpolicella by Monte dei Ragni).

Black Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (aka Cordisco) is a ‘noble’ grape with a history back to 1793, whose origins lie in the Valle Peligna of the Apennines, to the town of Sulmona. Purple coloured, packed with flesh, low-medium tannins but inclined to give reduced gamey wines it’s the workhorse of the bulk wine industry, distributed as blending wine everywhere in Italy (and Europe?); the DOC can be blended with 15% other abruzzese grapes.

White Trebbiano d’Abruzzo dates back to 16th century but its identity is frequently confused with Trebbiano di Toscana, Trebbiano di Romagna and Trebbiano di Soave! DOC allows blending with 15% local white varieties (e.g. Chardonnay, Fiano, Bombino – from Puglia!) Mostly overcropped to give insipid ‘sweet water’ wines of low alcohol, light body, grassy almond notes, yet potentially very good if treated with respect, without irrigation and on VSP trellising.

Autochthonous white Passerina, Pecorino, Cococciola varieties have become fashionable, giving wines with more obvious personality at high yields (than Trebbiano). Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo rosato is making a comeback too. From being the wine the pescatori (fishermen) it has since become a more serious proposition, probably due to its production from salasso/saignee/bleeding the MdA vats giving wines with greater body and abv%. It may prove to be the perfect ‘rosato’ in future, ideal wine style for any Asian dish.
David Berry Green, Wine Buyer

Recomended Producers: Col del Mondo, Cirelli, Faraone, Valentini
 

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Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

Trebbiano is a high yielding white wine grape variety, originated in the South-Eastern Mediterranean. Italy still has extensive plantings of the grape (it accounts for over half of the white wines in the country, with diminishing importance in the recent years).

It is also found in France, where it is known by the name of Ugni Blanc as a major component in Armagnac and Cognac that benefit from its high acidity and subtle flavours.

Trebbiano’s received some poor press over the years being responsible perhaps for too many anodyne Italian whites (and red blends!). However,  a new broom across the country has been sweeping away the poorer clones and practices in favour of something far more respectable, such as the examples produced by Monte del Frà

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