Gran Sasso, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Edizione Limitata

• Vintage: 2022 (also have 4 bottles of 2021)
• Wine staining to some labels… hence the price!
• Origin: Italy
• Taste guide: Full of bright aromas of juicy red berries and plums married happily with hints of vanilla. On the palate, plum nuances continue with dark berry and smooth vanilla/oak flavours in the background. It is medium-full bodied with silky tannins and a long, elegant finish.
• 75cl - 13.5% - Traditional Cork Opening
• Food pairing: This smooth Montepulciano pairs well with starters of cold cuts and is best complemented by T-bone steak, gourmet burgers, game, Beef Stroganoff with mushrooms or aubergine.

The Gran Sasso wines are from Ortona in the Abruzzi, home to Valentino Sciotti who is also closely involved in the Vesevo, Primo and Farnese ranges. Marco Flacco is the winemaker here and has made a range which has a freshness and vivacity often lacking in wines from this area. Valentino and his team work closely with their growers to produce a deep-coloured, clean and plummy young Montepulciano.

The grapes were hand picked. On arrival at the winery, the fruit was destemmed and crushed, before a cold maceration for four days. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled, stainless steel and concrete tanks at temperatures of 24-26°C and lasted for 10 days. Continuous racking and punch-downs were performed to optimize the extraction of flavours from the skins. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and oak barrels, which softened the acidity and added complexity to the final wine.

£14.50 is the normal RRP, we have sourced just 14 bottles that we can offer at £11.99 due to some wine staining to parts of the bottle labels.