A guide to Montepulciano worth seeking out, by region. We list the estates, how each region expresses the grape, and the bottles that show it best.

Montepulciano in Abruzzo

Valentini ★ 4.9

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano AbruzzeseFrancesco Paolo ValentiniLoreto Aprutino

The Loreto Aprutino estate run by Francesco Paolo Valentini, bottling Trebbiano, Montepulciano and Cerasuolo. DoctorWine states there are neither cellar visits nor sales at the door.

Tasting: No cellar visits and no direct sales at the estate

Emidio Pepe ★ 4.9

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, PecorinoFounded 1964Colline Teramane

Torano Nuovo house bottling since 1964, working unfiltered and holding wine in the cellar for up to twenty years before decanting. Montepulciano, Trebbiano and Pecorino, plus rooms on site.

Tasting: Tastings and visits arranged by email, with an agriturismo in the founder's house on the estate

Masciarelli ★ 4.7

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino320 haFounded 1981Teate

Founded at San Martino sulla Marrucina in 1981 and now farming 320 hectares across all four Abruzzo provinces, with about 2.5 million bottles a year according to DoctorWine.

Tiberio ★ 4.8

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, PecorinoTerre dei Vestini

Hillside estate at Cugnoli in the Pescara hinterland, trading as Agricola Tiberio and working Montepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese and Pecorino from its own vineyards.

Fattoria Nicodemi ★ 4.6

Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese30 haFounded 1970Colline Teramane

Notaresco estate in the Colline Teramane DOCG zone, dating to 1970 and farming 30 hectares. Alessandro Nicodemi chairs the Consorzio Tutela Vini d'Abruzzo.

Contesa ★ 4.4

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Terre dei Vestini, Abruzzo Pecorino DOC Colline PescaresiMontepulciano, PecorinoTerre dei Vestini

Collecorvino estate at Contrada Caparrone, bottling a Terre dei Vestini Riserva and a Colline Pescaresi Pecorino Superiore, with a booked visit and tasting programme.

Tasting: Visits and tastings bookable through the estate website

Barone Cornacchia ★ 4.5

Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, PasserinaORGANIC CERTIFIEDColline Teramane

Torano Nuovo estate whose own site states the whole production is certified organic. Range covers Montepulciano, Cerasuolo and a skin contact Trebbiano d'Abruzzo.

Tenuta Talamonti ★ 4.3

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, PecorinoLoreto Aprutino

Loreto Aprutino estate at Contrada Palazzo, covering the Montepulciano, Trebbiano, Cerasuolo and Pecorino range and selling into export markets in several languages.

Marchesi de' Cordano ★ 4.2

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, Passerina, CococciolaLoreto Aprutino

Loreto Aprutino producer at Contrada Cordano, covering the full Abruzzo white set of Trebbiano, Pecorino, Passerina and Cococciola alongside Montepulciano and Cerasuolo.

Rosarubra ★ 4.3

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, IGT Colline PescaresiMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, Merlot30 haBiodynamic PracticingCasauria

Pietranico estate of about 30 hectares that describes its own farming as organic and biodynamic, with an art and wellness programme alongside the cellar.

San Lorenzo Vini ★ 4.4

Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, Passerina168 haFounded 1998Galasso and Barbone familiesWinemaker Riccardo BrighinaColline Teramane

Castilenti estate in the Teramo hills, established in 1998 and farming 168 hectares per DoctorWine, with a visits and tastings page on its own site.

Tenuta Cerulli Spinozzi ★ 4.3

Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Montonico BiancoColline Teramane

Canzano estate on the Vomano side of the Teramo hills, inside the Colline Teramane DOCG, with a dedicated visits site alongside the main producer pages.

Tasting: Visit programme run on a separate booking site for the estate

Tenuta Terraviva ★ 4.4

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, PasserinaColline Teramane

Tortoreto estate a few kilometres from the Adriatic, trading as Societa Agricola Collebello, with low intervention winemaking including amphora aged Montepulciano.

Tasting: Cellar door with published opening hours including Saturday mornings

Tenuta I Fauri ★ 4.4

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, PasserinaTeate

Family estate in the Chieti hills with vineyards in the Teate subzone, covering Montepulciano, Cerasuolo and the Abruzzo whites from its cellar outside the city.

Feudo Antico ★ 4.4

Terre Tollesi o Tullum DOCG, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, PasserinaTollo

The Tollo producer built around the Tullum DOCG, with a Roman villa excavated on its own land and a range that covers the DOCG red, white and sparkling types.

Cantina Frentana ★ 4.1

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pecorino, Passerina, CococciolaOrtona and the Trabocchi coast

Cooperative at Rocca San Giovanni above the Trabocchi coast, one of the growers that made a varietal case for Cococciola alongside the Montepulciano volume.

Feudo Antico Tasting Room ★ 4.4

Montepulciano, Pecorino, Passerina, CococciolaAppointment onlyTollo

Three graded flights at the Tullum DOCG estate in Tollo, poured on a terrace that looks over the vineyards to the Adriatic.

Tip: The Native flight is the one that covers Cococciola and Passerina, the two Tollo whites hardest to find outside Abruzzo.

Cantina Frentana Tasting Room ★ 4.0

Montepulciano, Cococciola, Trebbiano Abruzzese, PecorinoAppointment onlyOrtona and the Trabocchi coast

Guided cellar visit at the Rocca San Giovanni cooperative, seven euro a head, covering the Cococciola that the co-op built its name on.

Tip: It is the cheapest sit-down tasting in the region and a short drive from the Trabocchi coast cycle path.

Tenuta Terraviva Tasting Room ★ 4.4

Montepulciano, Pecorino, Trebbiano AbruzzeseAppointment onlyColline Teramane

Organic estate above Tortoreto pouring three graded flights, from a short introduction to a full table of the amphora and skin-contact bottlings.

Tip: Ask for the macerated Pecorino, the bottling that put Terraviva into the Italian natural wine conversation.

Tenuta I Fauri Tasting Room ★ 4.4

Montepulciano, Cerasuolo, Pecorino, CococciolaAppointment onlyTeate

The Di Camillo family pour at their cellar in Ari, in the Foro valley south of Chieti, on a walk that starts among the vines.

Tip: The cellar at Ari is a different address from the Chieti office, so set the satnav to Via Foro.

Azienda Tilli Tasting Room ★ 4.0

Montepulciano, Pecorino, Trebbiano AbruzzeseAppointment onlyTerre di Chieti

Small Casoli grower in the Aventino valley offering three short tasting formats, the cheapest of them ten euro a head.

Tip: Casoli is 66043, not the 66023 that some listings carry; the estate publishes the correct postcode itself.

Pasetti Tasting Room ★ 4.2

Montepulciano, Pecorino, Cerasuolo, Trebbiano AbruzzeseAppointment onlyOrtona and the Trabocchi coast

Pasetti pour at their Francavilla al Mare base, a coastal counterpart to the family's high-altitude vineyards at Pescosansonesco.

Tip: Ask about the Gran Sasso plots; the contrast with the coastal fruit is the point of the flight.

Rosarubra Zen ★ 4.1

Montepulciano, Pecorino, Trebbiano Abruzzese, Pinot GrigioWalk-ins welcomeTerre dei Vestini

Rosarubra's shop and tasting room on the Lungofino road at Citta Sant'Angelo, away from the biodynamic estate at Pietranico.

Tip: It is the easier of the two Rosarubra town rooms to reach from the Pescara airport road.

Cantina Tollo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOP Biologico ★ 4.0

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano7.40 euros at the cooperative's own shopstill-red

The organic Montepulciano from the Tollo cooperative, priced at 7.40 euros on its own shop. The 2024 is the current bottling and it is the cheapest honest way into the denomination.

Tip: Buy it beside the organic Trebbiano at the same price and you have both sides of Abruzzo for under fifteen euros.

Cantina Tollo Deivai Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Superiore ★ 4.1

Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC SuperioreMontepulciano11.00 euros at the cooperative's own shopstill-rose

A Superiore Cerasuolo at eleven euros, listed by the cooperative under its Terre di Chieti line. The Superiore tier asks for more alcohol and more dry extract than the standard wine.

Tip: Cerasuolo is a rosato with its own DOC and its own ageing rules since 2010, not a lighter Montepulciano. Drink it with the region's lamb.

Cantina Tollo Cagiolo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva ★ 4.2

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC RiservaMontepulciano16.00 euros at the cooperative's own shopstill-red

Cagiolo is the cooperative's Riserva, sold at sixteen euros for the 2019. The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva rule asks for two years of ageing, at least nine months of it in wood.

Tip: The shop also lists the 2014 in magnum at forty euros, which is one of the few ways to buy an aged Abruzzo red at a cooperative price.

Jasci & Marchesani Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Classico ★ 4.0

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano8.90 euros at the estate's own shopstill-red

The house Montepulciano from a family cellar on the Colli Albani hill above Vasto, at 8.90 euros. The Vastese is the southern corner of Abruzzo, on the hills that run down to the Molise border.

Tip: The same estate sells its Trebbiano and Cerasuolo Classico at the identical price, so a three bottle set costs under twenty seven euros.

Jasci & Marchesani Nerube Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC ★ 4.1

Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano12.30 euros at the estate's own shopstill-rose

Cerasuolo from the Vastese at 12.30 euros. The name comes from cerasa, cherry, and describes the colour rather than the blend, which is Montepulciano at a minimum of 85 percent.

Tip: The estate also bottles a Cerasuolo Classico at 8.90 euros, so this is the one to buy if you want the difference between the two tiers in front of you.

Jasci & Marchesani Autentico Spumante Metodo Classico Millesimato ★ 4.1

Spumante Metodo Classico MillesimatoMontepulciano21.50 euros at the estate's own shopsparkling-traditional

A vintage traditional method sparkling at 21.50 euros from the Vasto estate, which also bottles ancestral method pet nat in white and rosato at 14.50 euros each.

Tip: Traditional method sparkling is not what Abruzzo is known for, which is exactly why it is worth twenty two euros to see what the region does with it.

Barone Cornacchia Casanova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC ★ 4.3

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano15.00 euros at the estate's own shopstill-red

The Casanova Montepulciano at fifteen euros from a Torano Nuovo estate whose whole production is certified organic. Torano Nuovo sits inside the Colline Teramane DOCG zone.

Tip: Casanova is the entry range across Montepulciano, Cerasuolo and Trebbiano, all fifteen euros, with the Passerina and Pecorino a little below.

Tenuta Terraviva Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG ★ 4.3

Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCGMontepulciano14.00 euros at the estate's own shopstill-red

A DOCG Montepulciano at fourteen euros from a Tortoreto estate a few kilometres from the Adriatic. The denomination asks for at least 90 percent Montepulciano and a year of ageing.

Tip: The estate's Lui and Polifemo from the same DOCG start at twenty and twenty nine euros, so this is the cheapest entry to Abruzzo's 2003 DOCG.

Tenuta Terraviva Giusi Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC ★ 4.3

Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOCMontepulciano14.00 euros at the estate's own shopstill-rose

Giusi is the Terraviva Cerasuolo, fourteen euros from the cellar door at Tortoreto. Winemag grouped the estate with De Fermo when it wrote about Abruzzo's natural wine side.

Tip: The cellar door publishes its hours and takes Saturday mornings, which is rare enough on this coast to plan a trip around.

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