Southern Italy: Umbria & Abruzzi

Nick

Heading to the Mediterranean this week to take a look at Italy from just north of Rome down to the top of Apulia.  On this episode:

  • Umbria and Orvieto
  • Montepulciano Di Abruzzi
  • 2010 Ruffino Classico Orvieto
  • 2008 Stella Italia Montepulciano D’Abruzzo


Umbria

Hailing from just northeast of Rome, and southeast of Tuscany, Umbria is a rather peaceful, serene area of Italy.  This region is perhaps best known for the wine Orvieto.  This crisp white wine made principally from Trebbiano, along with a few other varietals, has plenty of light yellow stone fruit and lively character.  While it used to be slightly sweet, most examples are now dry, although not overly so.  Some sweet examples do still exist known as amabile or dolce (which is even sweeter).

There are other wines that come from the region, notably Torgiano Rosso Riserva, and sagrantino di Montefalco, both of which are under Italy’s highest classification of government regulation, DOCG).

Abruzzi

There’s no real two ways about it, Abruzzi is not Italy’s richest region.  While the area is tailor made for wine, this tendency towards lower income and rural areas leads to larger quantities of wine being the focus, instead of higher quality.  The area is best known for the export of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which is made from the montepulciano grape (not the region, which is referred to in the Tuscan wine Vino Nobile de Montepulciano).  Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a soft, moderately tannic wine, with plenty of bold fruit flavors, a smack of earthiness, and almost a taste of Italy in glass.  Of the varietals from Southern Italy, montepulciano is within the top 3 for capturing the flavor and essence of the region.  Even better, it’s routinely extremely well priced at around or under $10, and is typically very good rustic wine for the price.

2010 Ruffino Classico Orvieto

Ruffino is one of the most well known producers of dry Orvieto from Umbria.  While Ruffino does not actually own any of the vineyards in Umbria, they do work with many producers in the area to produce this wine.  Can their collaboration produce a dry, peachy bomb, of does 2010 Ruffino Classico Orvieto get lost in the mix?

Sight:  A  yellow gold, on the lighter side.

Smell:  Sea spray, lemon, peach, and apricot all greet the nose.  There’s touch of green to the smell, like a kiwi and honeydew.

Sip:  Light on the palate, slightly sweet start that gives way to a strong bright kick of acid.  There’s a ton of nectarine, and lots of peach and apricot.  There are complimentary notes of lemon and minor floral notes.  [A.B.V. 12%]

Savor:  There’s a brief peak of honey that disappears in to light lemon.  The finish is a little on the acidic side.

Overall, 2010 Ruffino Classico Orvieto lives up to it’s tradition, and delivers a stone fruit driven, dry, crisp, white.  The subtle sweetness keeps this wine from being overwhelming, and the focus on flavors like nectarine drives this wine forward.  The result is a good amount of depth, and it could be a real stand out to pair with fish, but also light poultry.  As a thanksgiving wine, this might even be an interesting pairing.

Verdict:  Centered in Italy
Price: $7.97
DOC
Umbria, Italy
http://www.ruffino.com/pagine/pagina.aspx?&L=EN

2008 Stella Italia Montepulciano D’Abruzzo

Sight:  Light, red, with a hint of slight brown.

Smell:  There’s a slight note of dates that get hidden in smells of dark earth, mushrooms, rich chocolate, and espresso.  There’s light cherries with a touch of cranberry.

Sip:  The mouth feel is light to moderate, and more acidic than one might expect of a traditional red, but not montepulciano  There’s plenty of deep musky earth notes, there’s a good amount of red fruit including cherries and raspberries, and a lot of rustic flavor.  Touches of yellow plum flesh interject into a very dry flavor, with moderate tannins. [A.B.V. 12.5%]

Savor:  The flavor lingers, earthy and raspberry laced.  It’s moderately tannic, and begs for food.

Overall, 2008 Stella Italia Montepulciano D’Abruzzo reminds everyone why montepulciano is a taste of Italy, and why wine is meant for food.  While this wine is completely drinkable on it’s own, the soft character, moderate tannins, and bright flavor makes it ideal for rustic Italian cuisine.  It’s also a particularly a good candidate for wood fired pizza, which would pair nicely against the rustic earthiness.

Verdict:  Rustically inclined.
Price: $7.99
DOC
Abruzzi, Italy
http://www.winebow.com/Wine/Producer/Stella.aspx