Montepulciano d Abruzzo 2001

This had a shiny, oily black color with a garnet edge and was rustic to the right point when opened. According to Francesco Paolo Valentini, who took over his legendary father Edoardo’s winery when he died and with excellent results, “Montepulciano is never too clean’’. There was no reduction in the bouquet which was a textbook example of the winery’s trademark aroma of musky fur, coffee liqueur and black-fruit cream. The structure was meaty with a rotund finish that was a tad held back by the presence of carbon dioxide. This wine had incredible extracts with a fresher fruit that the 2000 but it still needs another ten years, at least.