Harvest 2017 at Praesidium in the Abruzzo . . . captions by Antonia Pasquale

6th October 2017 Cases ready for hosting the grapes still on the vines - the Sirente chain of mountains on the bottom 

Grapes in the cases on the tractor - The Morrone chain of mountains at the bottom

Harvest 2017 cases ready to be filled up with the Montepulciano  grapes 

Harvest in the old vineyard planted in 1973

Montepulciano grapes 2017 - the harvest occurred from the 2th to the 6th of October 

Ottaviano and Enzo in the Trebbiano vineyard

Our town Prezza on the right and the homonimous mountain- Sabrina with the hat

The crush-destemmer Michele- Massimo and Ottaviano

The grapes in the cases on the tractor- The Mountain San Cosimo 

The harvest in the old vineyard planted in 1973

Paolo de Strasser and the wines of Abbazia di Propezzano . . . .

The smiling picture!

New 2014 PASserina

New 2014 PECorino

The new 2014 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

The new FALanghina in amphora!

The serious Paolo de Strasser

New vini from Praesidium, tasted at Vini Veri and arriving May 1st . . .

New vintage of the Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo had to be changed to a IGT because they used some vines that were out not approved for DOC status . . . uh oh!  Too bad, the wine is really good!

The new vintage of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva

from a special section of the vineyard and named after their grandmother who first worked that vineyard

Francesco Cirelli at work . . . clay pot style . . .

Francesco Cirelli in Top 100 from Wine & Spirits Magazine!

Hi,

We have all of these in stock and in good quantity.  So glad that the wines are loved.  

​

Francesco Cirelli 2013 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 94 points (06/15)

This trebbiano, from an organic farm in Atri, gains its deep golden color and luscious texture during eight hours of skin maceration. When it’s first opened, it has an oxidative richness, with orange notes—both citrus and carrot—and a creamy, expansive minerality. It’s fresher a day later, warm and cool at the same time, still rooty, with crispness to balance the open, yielding texture. Fans of Emidio Pepe’s long-lived trebbianos should take note.

Francesco Cirelli 2013 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Amphora Aged 93 points (06/15)

Decant this and its rough, rooty edges begin to integrate with the initially raw scents of vanilla bean and rosemary. The toasty flavors of lees aging align with tangy, citrusy fruit into the layered, delicate richness of a millefeuille. It lasts, tingling with mineral acidity and freshness. Cirelli makes this from a parcel of 30-year-old vines, the oldest that he farms.

Francesco Cirelli 2013 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Amphora Aged 92 points (06/15)

When Francesco Cirelli established his 54-acre organic farm near Atri in 2003, these vines were already in place; one-third of the farm is now in vineyards, the balance in mixed agriculture, including geese, garlic and olives. He produces a burly montepulciano, this vintage youthfully concentrated with dark fruit and brisk, intense tannins that give it a rich, tarry, impacted feel. There’s plenty of energy in the fruit to keep it fresh as those tannins mellow. For the cellar.

Call or email me for your order or to taste some wine.

Praesidium wines awarded high honors by the L'Espresso guide to Italian wines . . .

Harvest Photos from Praesidium in Abruzzo . . .

Antonia Pasquale sent us some great photos of the harvest at Praesidium.  Everything is hand harvested into crates.  The yield on these vines is tiny.  Looks like 2014 will be another good vintage. But we have to wait five years for it to be released!

Ottaviano Pasquale, winemaker for Praesidium with the fermenting Montepulciano and Cerasuolo in stainless
 

the grape must going into the basket press after fermentation 

Vini Praesidium from the Abruzzo . . . coming to our shores . . .

I tasted these wines first five or more years ago or so at ViniVeri, one of the shadow conventions that take place the same time as VinItaly in Verona.  ViniVeri producers are usually practicing organic or biodynamic but aren't dogmatic about it like the producers at some of the other upstart fairs.  

At the time, I was just starting to import Italian wine and these wines caught my taste buds because they weren't like any other wine I had tried before . . .  or since.  But at the time, I just couldn't swing a brand like this and I was already selling the famous and respected wines from Emidio Pepe through another portfolio I represented, so it just didn't make sense.  And I only had tasted their current vintages at that time and not any of the older vintages.

I stopped by this year to taste their wines again, fully expecting that someone else would have picked them up by now, and to my surprise, they were still free on the West Coast, and they had their current selections, 2009 Montepulciano and 2013 Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo . . . but even more fascinating, they had some older vintages, the 2006 and the 2001.

And they blew my mind.  

The 2006 was as fresh as most wines straight after the harvest.  The flavors were so strong and so primal that I thought I was tasting a wine that was much younger. It all started to make sense.  This is what Montepulciano can be . . . a certain style to be sure, and not the last word on it, but wow!

The 2001 vintage had so much balance and so much finesse but at the same time power.  The expression "the iron fist in the velvet glove" sprang to mind and I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth. It lingered on my tongue and in my soul.

The next day, I had the pleasure of crashing a retrospective tasting of Emedio Pepe wines to celebrate his 50th year making his iconic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.  We tasted: 1967, 1975, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2007. The wines were lovely. Some, of course, better than others. The 1967 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo was the highlight.  A wine that had aged perfectly. 

Emidio Pepe- truly a lion of the wine business

But I must say, I couldn't get the Praesidium wines out of my mind.

Sometime your first instinct is the best instinct and I knew then that I had to have these wines for my portfolio.  Totally different from the wines of Francesco Cirelli which are made on the coast and are what I would call almost an avant garde representation of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, the wines from Praesidium are the exact opposite.  They need years to become accessible.  Years to open up and show their true character.  Years to blossom from something shy and awkward into something shining and true and good.

So here they are:

2013 Praesidium Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo                             
2009 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva
2006 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva
2001 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva 
1998 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva

The 1998 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva, the 2001 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva  and the 2006 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva, are older vintages, always kept in their cellar, hewn from rock in the mountains.  The 2009 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva is their current vintage, just released.  "Riserva" because it stays in the winery for five years before being released in the world. Two years in tank, two years plus in a mix of old slavonian botte and older barrique and then a year in bottle.

And of course, they make a Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo to rival all other Cerasuolos.  Bled off the fermenting Montepulciano after two days on the skins, it is almost too intense, more like a red wine than a rose` and will also reward a few years in the cellar.

From the winery: “We aim to create a true expression of the wine of this unique area using traditional and artisan methods in the vineyard and the cellar. We think that the wine, being a cultural product, born from the interaction between man and nature, has its own unique personality and it is necessary to allow the wine to express itself in the most spontaneous and natural manner. Our philosophy originates from the lifestyle led by our family since the beginning and passed down through the decades of farming work. In the vineyard, we have always tried to understand the needs of the land, by work that is aimed to assist nature, without forcing or manipulating it, and definitely without the use of synthetic chemical products. From having both the utmost respect of an area of land particularly appropriate for growing the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo vines, and the continuous research into the quality of the grapes, we reinforced the idea that the quality and the healthiness of the wine are strictly related. The artisan work in the cellar consists of reducing the operations to its essentials, which allows us to pursue our objective: produce, from the vinification of a single vine variety, a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine that is the most authentic expression of its native land.”

A birthday gift for Francesco Cirelli

A little love for Cirelli's Anfora Montepulciano . . .

I ran into this woman at the Wine House in Los Angeles by chance.  She was asking Lance, the wine buyer if he knew where she could find this "great wine a friend of mine brought to dinner last night" and on her phone was a picture of the Cirelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2011 Anfora!  Turns out it was out of her usual price range, but she bought it anyway!  She was so excited about it that I had to get a video of her for Francesco.

Rinascimento - Harvest Update from Az. Ag. Cirelli in Abruzzo!

From Francesco Cirelli . . .

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

"Ciao!

Here I am with a short update concerning vintage 2012 @AgricolaCirelli.
On sept the 26th I harvested the montepulciano grapes for making the cerasuolo amphora. Outside temperature 25 degrees C, nice and fresh with a morning fog which has been blown away too soon unfortunately.

Going into the anfora (amphora)

Grapes were is a good shape and health; 20 babo grades. The colour of the must is simply charming and I felt in Provence for a while… I used the free-run must only.

On sept 27th and 28th I harvested the grapes for the montepulciano amphora instead. Outside temperatures went up to 29 degrees (S#]t!)  Again: healthy with a well balance; 20 babo grades as well and free-run must only.

Free run juice

During the night of the 27th the cerasuolo and the montepulciano musts have naturally started the fermentation;

Fermenting must

great emotion this early morning to see the bubbles bubbling within the amphoras…" Un abbraccio, Francesco

Looks fun.  Wish I could be there.  A huge hug to Francesco and Michela from the West Coast!