I say this with joy in my soul, for this region and these wines have been a mainstay with me and mine for many years, long before they became so swank and natty.
People love leaders. Just look around in these times to see where we have arrived in our obeisance to the rich and powerful. The highest financial and social levels of society control the wealth, the data, the algorithms and the right to designate who or what should be desirable.
Abruzzo has not been discovered by the gilt-edged crowd. Yet. But over the years there has been a recognizable designation of just exactly who are the top dogs in Abruzzo, with regards to wine making.
When I first got into the trade, there were two, who Burton Anderson called “The Rugged Individualists” – Valentini and Pepe. Valentini was much more mercurial than Pepe. Pepe and his daughters took a slightly more engaging path. Both producers explored the boundaries and outer limits of just how great Montepulciano (and Trebbiano!) could be. And now they are part of the legacy of Abruzzo winemaking. Historical figures. Not that either family is finished. It’s just that other families have come online and the party is growing.
My experience was in following the Illuminati family, who to this day, while they have been in the forefront of innovation, don’t sit at the Right Hand of the Father in ways that Valentini and Pepe do. But there is a lesson in where it is they have landed. They are not considered a First Growth or a Premier Grand Cru by the cognoscenti and the burattinaio who control the levers of opinion and predominance. And in today’s world, more than ever, perception is reality.
So, who are the present-day challengers to the Sultans of Sway, the Valentini’s and the Pepe’s? “Ah, but it doesn’t work that way in the world of wine,” the little angel on my right shoulder says. “It’s a team effort – teamwork makes the dream work.” Cute little angel.
Meanwhile, the diabolical one on my left should chimes in, “The hell with that. The race is for the swift, the beautiful, the loud and the unceasing.” Say what? “Yeah, you heard me – this is a sprint - the fastest runner, the ceaseless poster, the continually traveling, promoting and qualifying one gets to the top of the mountain. It’s a dog-eat-dog world.” So says shoulder devil.
I’m not in that camp. Look, I see how hard some of the producers work, not just to make wine but to take their message to the trenches, endlessly packing and unpacking from trips around the world. A perfect example of that is Cristiana (and Antonio) Tiberio, who make fantastic wines and if anyone should share the summit with the Crème de la Crème of Abruzzo, they surely deserve it.
But I go back to my extensive interactions with Illuminati over the years and saw how they run their race. They aren’t trying to be the top, like their neighbors over at Pepe. They don’t promote in the same way. And I think part of that has to do with how they see wine fitting into their (and our) lives. And this in no way is to disparage Tiberio, Pepe and Valentini for the way they handle their journey.
I have Illuminati wines going back 50 years in my wine
cellar. And one of the things I notice when I drink an older vintage is the freshness
of the wines. Now, sometimes when wines age, they lose the freshness a little
to secondary and tertiary factors that influence the aging. And while many of
those developments prove that aging wine is the ultimate goal of a great (red)
wine, I’m not so sure anymore that’s something every great red wine needs to
aspire to (more on that here).
This aligns with a current notion I have been entertaining. That is, does a wine that is aged rank higher in one’s personal pantheon of pleasure than a fresher, younger version of that wine? I say this because winemaking techniques have made wines easier to enjoy when younger. Also, and this isn’t for everyone, but for people of a certain age, let’s call them elderly, sometimes younger wines can be more attractive than well-aged ones. I know, I know, that’s an anti-elite reverse-snobbery position. Some of you might be thinking “he might as well just go to Trader Joe’s and stock up on Two Buck Chuck if he’s gonna be thinking thought like that.” Well, I’m not quite in that frame and besides I still have a wine cellar full of older, more developed wines. So, I’m not waving the white flag and giving in to just drinking young, young wines.
Which leads me back to Abruzzo. These are really plump, juicy and delicious red wines when they are young and they are capable of bestowing great pleasure to the table and the inhabitants sitting around said table. And while it doesn’t further the mystique of places like Abruzzo as they rise up in the ranks of Great Wines of the World, it is more of a benefit than a deficit. I mean, these wines are fun, they are versatile and they are diverse. You want wood? You can find it. A fan of concrete? Bingo. Looking for très naturel? Oiu, bien sûr! Want fruit? Yep, can do. Want restraint? Done did deal. What might be seen as a shortcoming (the lack of continuous style across the appellation) is, in today’s world, an attribute. It’s Montepulciano, in millennial speak saying “I am who I am and that’s good enough for me and it’ll be good enough for you.”
Or as Mr. Rogers said, “We love you just the way you are.”
And truly, with regards to Montepulciano (or Trebbiano or Pecorino or Passerina or any number of grapes into wine) the way they are is just fine with me, at this point in my life.
