
Valentini is no doubt the most famous winery of Abruzzo with a reputation, slowly built by Edoardo Valentini, that goes beyond national borders. Today Francesco Valentini, the current owner, carries on his father’s work with the same artisanal approach, repeating few simple gestures.
First of all, despite the vineyards covering 70 hectares, the 3 wines (Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) production is limited to a total of 50.000 bottles. We could quite claim that Francesco, like his father before, makes a maniacal selection of the individual grapes of the bunch!
The second characteristic concern the ageing: after spontaneous fermentation the wines are bottled with a very low sulphur dioxide amount and allowed to rest for a very long and non-standardized period. It is possible to find on the market a younger vintage while the older in still in the cellar because “the wine is not yet ready”.
As this iconic and monumental Trebbiano 2005 vintage shows, the ageing, even long, greatly benefits him. Its traditional opalescent golden yellow color has kept intact while the aromas evolved and matured in sensations of chamomile, pineapple, melon, hay, sage, saffron, dried fruit, passion fruit, honey, white pepper and the typical smoky scents of hidrocarburo, dried mushrooms and truffles. The mouthfeel is supple, complex and intense, upheld by a nice acidic streak that leads the sip to a tasty and mineral closure.
Rating: 94/100
Want to find out what I can do for you? Click here!