2023 Nevio - Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC (750ml)

Nevio takes its name from the Capestrano Warrior, a six-foot stone statue unearthed among Abruzzo's vineyards in 1934 and believed to depict the ancient King Nevio Pompuledio. The wine is made by the Redomonte-DiTonno family, third-generation proprietors of Tenuta Talamonti in the medieval village of Loreto Aprutino. Sustainability runs through their approach, and the region's steady rainfall means the estate vineyards are farmed without irrigation.

This bottling is 100 percent estate-grown Montepulciano, harvested by hand from vines at least thirty years old, planted in the hills between the Adriatic coast and the Apennines. After careful selection, the grapes undergo a long maceration on the skins at controlled temperature, a traditional approach meant to pull maximum color and richness from the variety. The wine is then refined first in stainless steel tanks, allowing the fruit to settle and clarify, before moving into large wooden casks for a further period of aging that rounds out its structure.

The wine pours an intense ruby red with violet highlights, opening to aromas of mulberry and sour cherry preserve layered with vanilla, cocoa, and black pepper. The palate is rich and full-bodied, with ripe, balanced tannins carrying through to a long finish. Pour it with grilled sausages, eggplant parmigiana, or aged provolone.