Wine: Il Feuduccio: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva “Ursonia” DOC

Abruzzi

The Abruzzi is geographically isolated from the rest of Italy and not really known internationally for much other than the mountains and hills that define the area. Its one claim to fame is the Corno Grande within the Gran Sasso d’Italia (great rock of Italy) range known by hikers and climbers since it is the highest point in the Apennines. The historical inability to easily travel and get around has led to a mountain culture known for being determined (stubborn being the
less diplomatic term) and defiant to those who tried to conquer it.

Yet, that culture has definite elements reflecting many years under Spanish rule. It should be noted that Saffron is a specialty of the interior uplands. Once out of the highlands, the region has a warm, sunny climate that is conducive to crops of all kinds. Vineyards line the river valleys running from the mountains toward the sea and have the sunshine and coastal breezes needed for abundant crops. Unfortunately, a poor economy and isolation have allowed cooperatives to dominate the region’s viticulture and are responsible for 80-90 percent of all wine produced. With less than half the vineyard area of Tuscany, the Abruzzi continues to produce twice as much wine. If ever a region were to be defined as mass-produced, this would be it as they continue to have the highest average yields in Italy. The most well known wines produced are the white Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and the red Montepulciano d”Abruzzo.*

However, the region is like the rest of southern Italy where there is a natural abundance and opportunity for premium wines to be developed. Of note are a few small producers who have begun to focus on the wines from the native red, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, demonstrating the power, complexity yet finesse that can be achieved when yields are reduced and clones selected with care.

The grape is generous in color and flavor and, when yields are severely reduced, reflects an opulent character that, when combined with modern vinification results in truly remarkable, age worthy wines. As for white wines, it seems that producers focused on quality are favoring grapes other than Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. Many are working with Chardonnay, while others have put together interesting blends with varieties more commonly found in nearby regions such as Greco andFalanghina (of Greek origin) and Pecorino (typically found in diminishing use within the Marche).
(* The name of the grapes has no relationship to the town of Montepulciano in Tuscany).

Il Feuduccio

Some six hours from Milan is one of the most beautiful, untouched landscapes you could imagine: green valleys and snow-capped mountains, with the Adriatic Sea for horizon. Here, at equal distances from abruzzesi beaches and ski resorts and 1,380 feet above sea level (approx. 420 meters), is the estate of Gaetano Lamaletto. Born in a tiny village just two and a half miles away, Lamaletto left his native land forty years ago with his newly wed Maria, staking everything he had on a South American ceramics venture that was to bear golden fruits.

It would have been only natural for the Lamalettos to enjoy their hard-earned success and give Abruzzi no more than the fleeting tribute of nostalgia. Instead, Gaetano chose to craft a range of all-Abruzzi wines in celebration of his homeland.

In 1995, the steel-willed magnate set out to get the best vineyards in the market and the best possible team of professionals, securing superb hillside soil at the foot of mount Maiella and actively coordinating every detail of the newborn operation. An unrelenting perfectionist, Lamaletto was not satisfied until all aspects of Il Feuduccio had undergone his personal scrutiny, from underground winery (a glory of stainless steel, hygiene, temperature & humidity control, gravity-based, non-traumatic, computer-monitored vinification) to vineyard.

The estate, now totalling 54 hectares (133 acres) under vine, is cultivated to the severest quality criteria, producing a maximum 1.8 kilos (3.9 pounds) per vine. Clones have been selected after painstaking soil analysis, plot per plot. All phases of the preparatory work have been supervised not only by Gaetano himself, but by the latter’s eldest daughter, lively, creative Laura, and manager Rocco Cipollone.

The sandy-clayey-silty terrain – catered to by ideal microclimate, ideal temperature range, ideal varieties, ideally trained and drained & densely planted at 1800-2050 stocks per acre – endows the wines with unbelievable breed and concentration.

100% indigenous Montepulciano, Abruzzi’s structured yet supple red grape. This fabulous, high-rising terrain and the variety’s intrinsic nobility yield majestic body and depth, mellow roundness, fleshy complexity and ample, layered flavors.
Its name derives from the area’s ancient Latin denomination (Ursonia, which later became Orsogna). Severe grape selection, outstanding elegance.

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