Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
MTP VV (301, 312, 321). Some clones have
given much better results than others, but not
surprisingly, opinions are not uniform. For
example, R7 was once the most-planted clone,
but some producers, such as Fausto Albanesi,
are no longer using it, fi nding the wines too
marked by pyrazine notes when the grapes are
not perfectly ripe. On the other hand, Cristiana
Tiberio believes the R7 to be the best possible
compromise, because the R100, originally cre-
ated as the ultimate high-quality clone, is too
subject to
millerandage,
hence its productivity is
too low and the risk of green fl avors too high,
given all the small, unripe green berries, even
with careful selection of berries and bunches.
The VCR 456 is nicknamed the Casauria clone
because it apparently performs well in the
Casauriense area of Abruzzo. A Montepulciano
biotype specifi c to the northeastern corner of
Lazio is called Violone.
Montepulciano bears an uncanny resem-
blance to another grape, Pugnitello. In fact, for
the longest time, it was believed that the two
were one and the same; today the prevailing
opinion holds that the two are not even biotypes
but altogether different varieties. Maurizo Cas-
telli still believes the two varieties are closely
related. “They certainly look very similar, so it's
easy to get fooled,” he says. “Every time I visit
an estate where I consult that has planted Pug-
nitello, I hear the vineyard workers talking
among themselves saying that the two are iden-
tical.” “You'd ask for one and the nurseries
would just send you the other,” adds winemaker
Laura Zuddas of the Matura group, “so many
people are growing both side by side, but don't
know it. The two grapes are not the same how-
ever: only those who don't know them that well
believe that. And Pugnitello tends to be less
reductive during vinifi cation than Montepul-
ciano: the latter requires a lot more work, and
there are times when you think all you do is
rack and return.”
Montepulciano's popularity is persistently
high. In the fi rst decade of the twenty-fi rst cen-
tury, plantings increased by another 4 percent,
fi rmly entrenching the grape as Italy's fourth
most-planted variety. It has been planted else-
where in the world too. California has roughly
eighty hectares planted in, for example, Lodi,
Paso Robles, and Temecula Valley, but it grows in
North Carolina and Texas too. Not surprisingly,
it's also found in Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico's
Baja California. Australia's Adelaide Hills and
New Zealand also grow Montepulciano.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Montepulciano is so associated with Abruzzo
(where it represents over 50 percent of the
region's surface under vine) that the DOC Mon-
tepulciano d'Abruzzo was the fi rst all-region
DOC of Italy, later fi ne-tuned by allowing sub-
denominations such as Colline Teramane, now
a DOCG, and the DOC Controguerra. Particu-
larly interesting are wines from Val Peligna,
where mountain viticulture allows for more
vibrant wines. The variety also likes clay, and
this is why the Colline Teramane, a district
heavily laden with clay, is a rare DOCG that
actually makes sense (though, allow me, most
of the wines don't). Fausto Albanesi also
believes that the vineyards with west-north-
west exposure, in the Passo Cordone area near
Loreto Aprutino at roughly three hundred
meters above sea level, are good quality.
Montepulciano grows well all along the
Adriatic coast, unbothered by the marine envi-
ronment (what a difference from Sangiovese!),
and there are large areas devoted to its cultiva-
tion in Molise, Marche, and Puglia, and even in
more inland regions such as Tuscany, Umbria,
and Lazio. In fact, it is the most important red
variety of the Marche, used to make DOC Rosso
Conero and DOCG Conero near Ancona and
DOC Offi da Rosso and Rosso Piceno near
Ascoli Piceno. It is also included in many wine
blends, such as Molise's Biferno Rosso, Puglia's
Castel del Monte, and Lazio's Castelli Romani
Rosso. In Tuscany, though Montepulciano is
not as clearly associated with any one produc-
tion area, there is probably more present than
currently believed.
As Montepulciano is a real jack-of-all-trades,
it can be used to make sparkling, dry, and sweet
