Each month, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious, top-value 'Special Italian Wine' for you to drink and enjoy at home – or on your Abruzzo vacation

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. DOCG. 1998. Talosa.

Let's start by establishing that this wine has nothing whatsoever to do with the Montepulciano grape or that it's any relation to Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

Vino Nobile comes from vineyards centred around the ancient hilltop town of Montepulciano in Tuscany. It's made predominantly from a local variant of the Sangiovese grape known as Prugnolo Gentile and is normally released after spending two years in wood.

This bottle's from the 1998 vintage. Not a stupendous year; but not a shabby one either. Given that Vino Nobile is generally a pretty tannic wine and doesn't really start hitting its stride until after its 10th birthday, I was reasonably sure it'd be ready for drinking right away, but the only slight concern was how it had spent the last decade.

Lying quietly in some cool cellar ? Or sold once; resold; and sold again, standing upright for years on some shelf in a dozen different stores ?

If you buy a 10 year-old wine from a wine merchant, you can be confident it's enjoyed a cosseted provenance. Not so if you grab what appears to be a bargain wherever you see it. It's a risk you run. In this case, a risk that was justified.

This is a tremendously good wine. Brick red in colour like an old claret and with a old claret-like nose of leather, liquorice and warm tar. The taste however is decidely unlike old claret. The Sangiovese tannins are still very much in evidence – though greatly tamed – and indicative of at least another five years before old age begins to set in. But underlying everything is an almost a mulled-wine warmth, with hints of spice and wild cherry.

Here's a wine to partner game birds, venison and wild boar or, more prosaically, a good old-fashioned English steak-and-kidney pie. Something even simpler ? Big field mushrooms, sliced and fried-up with potatoes, bacon, garlic and parsley. Earthy flavours for an earthy wine.

An intriguing little footnote. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano must contain at least 70% Sangiovese and the wine in this particular bottle is a pretty standard blend of 80% Sangiovese, along with a little Canaiolo Nero and Mammolo. However…the makers Talosa have changed their blend of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano at some point since this wine was made.

If you buy a bottle of this year's vintage, you'll find it's 90% Sangiovese and 10% hardly-traditional Merlot. Why ? I suspect the presence of Merlot is there to both soften the Sangiovese edge and to provide a wine that's a little more approachable a little sooner.

If you should try it, let me know what it's like !

At A Glance…

• This month's featured wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
• Vintage: 1998
• Designation: DOCG
• Grape: 80% Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile), 15% Canaiolo Nero, 5% Mammolo
• Strength: 13.5%
• Closure: Cork
• Producer: Fattoria della Talosa
• Website: www.talosa.it
• This bottle cost: €15.30

ps. This wine throws a little sediment, so try and decant an hour or so before drinking.

Next Month…

The first of a couple of blogs about wines for Christmas.In December, we'll recommend a red wine for Christmas lunch. But for November, a suggestion for something to drink with Christmas pudding and mince pies. Get into the festive spirits with wines you'll enjoy at home – and on your Abruzzo vacation !

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Eating and Drinking, Special Italian Wine, 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.