Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2012

GUARANTEED BEST PROVENANCE:
DIRECTLY IMPORTED FROM ITALY BY AIR AND STOCKED IN CALIFORNIA

Francesco Paolo Valentini continues his enigmatic father Edoardo’s famously secretive winemaking traditions with this delicious 2012 vintage made from the Trebbiano Abruzzese grape and not the less interesting Trebbiano Toscano grape.

Choosing only 10% of the harvested fruit for his wines, Francesco Paolo presses the grapes with old style basket presses and ages the wine briefly in old, neutral Slavonian oak casks. The wine is bottled the following Spring, and malolactic fermentation occurs in the bottle, helping preserve the wine with a touch of carbon dioxide (and using less sulfur dioxide). When you pop the cork, you’ll hear a little ffftz from the escaping CO₂, as Francesco Paolo had intended.

Valentini’s 2012 vintage is gorgeous, with a wild and rich nose of citrus fruits, lemon oil, acacia flowers and wild mushrooms. On the palate, there’s ripe apricots and Bosc pears, a touch of lemon pith, verbena flowers and a medium acidity that gives the wine energy. Delicious.

I’d pair this with roasted or poached white fish dressed with a squeeze of lemon, or a simple pasta or risotto dish with frutti di mare. The wine pairs well with antipasti like bruschetta drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with a little garlic, or try it with baccalà fried or Mantecato style. Or do like me and just drink & enjoy with friends.

Bottle Size: 750ml

Alcohol: 12.5%