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 holiday

Pecorino 'Unico' IGT. 2008. Tenuta Ulisse.

Pecorino is the new (rapidly) rising star of Abruzzo wine and this offering from Tenuta Ulisse is the very best you can get your hands on.

And that's not a subjective judgement either. This Pecorino – the 2008 vintage – was voted 'Best Italian White Wine' at 2009's prestigious London International Wine Challenge, also picking up a gold medal for 'Best Pecorino' almost as an afterthought.

The Pecorino grape is an ancient Abruzzo heritage variety – earning its name because sheep allegedly enjoy eating it – that was rescued from the brink of extinction in the 1990s.

The Chieti region – where we live – is now one of its strongholds. But here's the rub. Because of Italy's convoluted wine rankings system – which makes France's appear a model of logic – Pecorino only qualifies for a lowly IGT rating.

Which redefines absurdity.

We now have a wine internationally-voted 'Best in Italy' and it's officially rated in its home country as…ordinary.

Don't even think of asking me to explain.

Brothers Antonio and Luigi Ulisse are very much the new kids on the block when it comes to wine production. They started Tenuta Ulisse as recently as 2006 and currently produce just seven varietal wines and a sparkler under the 'Unico' brand label.

Much is made of Ulisse's innovative production techniques in which the juice is extracted under anaerobic conditions which allegedly wrings the very last drop of pure flavour and essence of grapey goodness from each bunch.

It's then bottled with a glass stopper which is actually quite a nice idea as it instantly eradicates any possibility of cork taint and is a rather upmarket alternative to a plastic bung or the irritating screw-top so unaccountably beloved by New Zealand producers.

The wine itself is magical. If you like Viognier, but want something rather dryer and less – well – voluptuous than Viognier, you're going to love this.

There's that same mingling of apricots, white peach and almond – and a hint too of amaretti biscuits – with an extremely long finish.

There's a nice refreshing acidity there as well, without even the tiniest hint of any sweetness and making me wish I was drinking this on a hot summer's day rather than a drab January one.

I think what appeals most is the absolute purity of taste, which makes you think there might be more than meets the eye to the production techniques. But however it's achieved, it works.

Drink and enjoy this on its own. Or with a simple grilled Dover Sole. Plaice or turbot would be equally good.

A delicious start to the wine-tasting year !

At A Glance…

• This month's 'Special Italian Wine': Pecorino 'Unico'
• Vintage: 2008
• Designation: IGT
• Grape: 100% Pecorino
• Strength: 13%
• Closure: Glass stopper
• Producer: Tenuta Ulisse
• Website: www.tenutaulisse.it
• This bottle cost: €10.80

Next Month…

The 'Special Italian Wine' blog celebrates its first birthday, so we'll be looking back at the wines we've tasted over the past 12 months and trying to decide on the pick of the bunch for you to drink and enjoy at home – and on your Abruzzo holiday !

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 8:24 am 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.