Fattoria La Valentina is located in Spoltore, Italy along the Adriatic coast. Owner Sabatino Di Properzio founded the property in 1990 to revitalize the venerable wines of this region –Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. In 1998, Di Properzio partnered with Stefano Inama to launch Binomio, a project dedicated to producing authentic expressions of terroir and varietal using traditional and sensitive farming methods. That same year, Di Properzio hired winemaker Luca D’Attoma. Luca combines organic and biodynamic practices with modern technology to grow the best quality fruit possible. Soils at the estate are a blend of clay, clay-calcareous marl and loose, medium-grade sandstone. The 49 acre, south-southwest facing Bellovedere vineyard is situated on a hillside near the Adriatic Sea and is planted with 10-30 year old Trebbiano, Pecorino, and Montepulciano vines. The 9 acre Binomio vineyard sits at 1,312 feet at the foot of Maiella Mountain in southern Abruzzo and is planted to Montepulciano. The area’s warm and dry summer paired with cold winter temperatures provide the ideal growing environment. Estate vineyards in Scafa and San Valentino total 37 acres and are planted with Trebbiano, Pecorino, Montepulciano and Fiano vines that range from 4-40 years old.

Tasting notes

Blended and bottled without filtration, this wine shows pretty notes of cherries, almonds and anise. Long-grained tannins pair nicely with balanced acids.

Technical notes

The fruit was macerated and fermented in stainless steel with delestage for almost three weeks after which it aged for 18 months in new and neutral oak.