Archivio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – 2022

Archivio is a single vineyard Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOP coming from a specific 3 acre/1.2 hectare portion of our historical 6.2 acre/2.5 hectare vineyard, planted to 69 year old Montepulciano vines. It is from this vineyard that over the years we identified, selected and then propagated massal selections of Montepulciano vines with which we have planted all our Montepulciano vineyards.

The Archivio plot is a special portion of this larger vineyard as its the only plot on the whole property with a strong clay presence in the subsoil (limestone soil – subsoil with presence of clay and iron oxide). The Montepulciano that grows in the Archivio vineyard has different characteristics and so do the wines that are made with it. We identified four different Montepulciano biotypes that look and behave differently from other known Montepulciano biotypes and clones. It represents our estates’s historical Montepulciano vines library, or archive (hence the wine’s name: “archivio” in Italian translates to archive). The four biotypes have been named after our estate’s dogs, who are as much a part of our family’s history as the wines we make.

Differences between the four biotypes are many. They can be generalized in: one biotype is characterized by smaller round berries with thicker skins that reach full physiologic polyphenol ripeness with greater ease, Tione98; a second biotype that has grapes with thin skins (and therefore a lower skin to pulp ratio with more juice) and higher acidity levels, Quarmari15; a third by a much longer bunch and it is the latest ripening of the four, Diana18 (Montepulciano is a late ripening variety as it is); and a fourth biotype characterized by a very round leaf instead of the more typical multilobed, jagged leaf and by seeds that only rarely turn completely brown (therefore delivering a much more tannic wine that is nonetheless more often than not nobly tannic despite the seeds not fully turning color), Otto19.

The spontaneous fermentation carried out with natural, vineyard-specific yeasts only reaches higher temperatures, indicating how this specific yeast population is adapted to a specific environment and able to work at higher temperatures and lead to deeper natural extraction of polyphenols.

The result is a wine that is at once fresh and elegant but also quite powerful, with darker color, aromas and flavors, and greater density than our other Montepulcianos, a profile that is fully expressive of the wine’s specific terroir. For these reasons, and unlike all our other wines, the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Archivio is partly aged in oak (barriques, 30% new). The use of the barriques is not out of a desire to make an oak-aged wine, but rather a consequence of the wine’s specific characteristics and need for a greater amount of oxygenation.

• Vineyard Area: 3 acres/1.2 Ha
• Altitude: 1247 feet/380 meters
• Soil: Limestone, clay subsoil with iron oxides
• Vine Age: 69 years
• Vine Training System: Pergola Abruzzese – Canopy training system
• Yield: 31 Hl/Ha

• Hand harvested mid-October
• Fermented 30 days in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks using only indigenous yeasts
• Malolactic fermentation in stainless steel
  25% of wine aged in new barriques, 75% in stainless steel for 11 months
• Bottled unfined and unfiltered
• Bottle aged at least 8 months

Deep ruby red with purple tints. Intensely aromatic, powerful and elegant.
Smoky red cherry and blue fruit with spices. Flavors of violets, roses and licorice. Smooth, vibrant and fresh.

100% massal selection Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from 4 unique biotypes; alcohol: 14.5%; single vineyard wine from 3 acre plot of historic vineyard; 69 year old vines in limestone overlaying clay subsoil with iron oxide; fermented 30 days in stainless steel using only indigenous yeasts; malolactic fermentation in stainless; 25% of wine aged in new barriques, 75% in stainless steel for 11 months; bottled unfined and unfiltered; aged 8 months in bottle.

• 100% massal selection Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• Total Acidity: 6.21 g/l
• pH: 3.48
• Residual Sugar: 1.6 g/l
• Extract: 28.9