Each Saturday, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious, top-value 'Everyday Italian Wine' for you to try at home – or enjoy on your Abruzzo vacation !

Rosso Piceno Superiore. 'Destriero' 2005. Cantine di Castignano
The neighbouring region to the immediate north of Abruzzo is Le Marche. You'll know it as the source of one of Italy's best white wines – the renowned and excellent Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi from around Ancona further up the coast; but you might not know about the region's less-heralded red – Rosso Piceno.

This comes from the southernmost part of the region, around the town of Ascoli Piceno just the other side of the River Tronto which provides the border between Le Marche and Abruzzo. 

The village of Castignano is a little to the north-east of Ascoli and the local co-op Cantine di Castignano is approaching its 50th birthday. It's a model of its kind, producing a range of exemplary (mostly blended) reds and whites; spumanti and Grappa; and fine local olive oil. 

The 'Destriero' is a vat-aged blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese (the grape of Chianti). Ripe bramble fruit is much in evidence here. Not as heady as 100% Montepulciano can be, but given a bit of juicy light and life by the addition of the Sangiovese. There's a refreshing dry tang in the finish too that's enhanced and made irresistably moreish by a couple of hours in the fridge. This may not be the wine for a fireside glass on a cold winter night, but if you want a change from the ubiquitous summer whites, you'll find that a chilled 'Destriero' makes a perfect hot-weather barbecue or picnic red. 

This is the red you'll want to drink with spicy char-grilled sausages, pate, salami and good bread and cheese. It'll even enliven those old summer barbecue favourites – the burnt chicken leg and the overcooked burger. 

And not only does it taste good, but this Rosso Piceno from Castignano has a story to tell too. Intrigued by the knight in armour on the label ?  The village of Castignano -  scenically perched on its Le Marche hilltop – has strong historic links with the Knights Templar (of 'Da Vinci Code' fame). So much so, that the village's big annual festival in mid-August is called the Templaria and has a strong medieval theme.

Local legend has it that many Knights are buried in full armour somewhere in the countryside surrounding Castignano and this association with the Knights Templar continues in the labels on Cantine di Castignano wines.  

'Destriero' – the name of this wine – means 'Steed'; and there are 'Templaria', 'Gran Maestro' and 'Castello' blends in the range too, all with suitably evocatively-designed labels.

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wine: Rosso Piceno Superiore. 'Destriero' 
  
• Vintage: 2005
• Producer: Cantine di Castignano
• Designation: DOC
• Grape: Montepulciano/Sangiovese blend
• Strength: 13%
• Closure: Cork
• This bottle cost: €3.95

Cantine di Castignano
In addition to the Montepulciano/Sangiovese blend in its 'Destriero' – the Superiore tag here earned by a touch more strength and bottle-age than the average Rosso Piceno – the Cantine also features other blends that are well-worth tasting. 'Templaria' is an oak-aged Sangiovese/Merlot blend, while 'Gran Maestro' is a mix of Montepulciano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Hard to track down though, as only 7000 bottles are produced annually. There's a white version of 'Templaria', with Trebbiano, Passerina, Pecorino and Malvasia – and a single-grape 'Passerina' too. There's much more information on the entire range on Cantine di Castignano's own website, which for sheer clarity and interest deserves plaudits in its own right.

If you're intrigued by the village of Castignano and its past links with the Knights Templar, take a look here – and if you like Italian wine, why not check out last week's 'Everyday Italian Wine' and bookmark this site for future weekly posts !

(Click on pictures in text for larger images) 

Next week:  Langhe Arneis, a fragrant white from the Piedmont region of northern Italy for you to try at home – or on your Abruzzo vacation !

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 at 4:27 am and is filed under David's 'Everyday Italian Wine', Eating and Drinking, Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.