Villamagna DOC

One of the smallest denominations in Italy: a single commune in the hills above Chieti, plus fragments of two neighbours, given over entirely to Montepulciano. It was created by ministerial decree on 20 April 2011, and fewer than a dozen producers bottle it.

The Terroir The registered file describes the orography of Villamagna and its neighbouring communes as wide sunny hills well exposed to the south which, thanks to the presence of the imposing Maiella massif, benefit from the daily air currents as well as from considerable temperature swings, creating optimal conditions for Montepulciano of high quality. The Maiella is the second-highest massif in the Apennines and rises directly behind the zone; the cold air that falls off it at night is the reason a denomination this far south can hold acidity in a grape that ripens as readily as Montepulciano does.

The Numbers The file’s analytical minimums say more than any tasting note. Minimum total alcohol is 13 per cent, rising to 13.5 for the riserva, and minimum non-reducing dry extract is 30 g/l, rising to 32. Those are high figures, well above what the regional Montepulciano d’Abruzzo requires, and they are a deliberate statement: this denomination was written to exclude thin wine.

Grape Varieties Montepulciano, and nothing else of consequence. It is Abruzzo’s great red — deep, dark, low in acid, with soft but abundant tannin and a flavour of black plum and dried herb. Bottling within the zone is mandatory, though the file permits it anywhere in the Abruzzo region.

The Critical Take Villamagna exists because a small group of growers wanted to prove that Montepulciano from a defined hillside is a different proposition from Montepulciano from anywhere in Abruzzo, which is what the regional DOC allows. On the evidence they are right: the wines are firmer and more savoury than the Abruzzese average, with real structure rather than sweetness of fruit. Whether a name this obscure can carry that argument to a buyer is another question, and so far the answer has been no.

Villamagna and Colline Teramane Abruzzo has two attempts at a site-specific Montepulciano: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane, elevated to DOCG in 2003 and covering a large stretch of the Teramo province, and Villamagna, which covers one commune. The second is far more restrictive and far less known. Between them they carry the region’s argument that Montepulciano deserves to be judged by place.

At the Table Abruzzese cooking: arrosticini, lamb, pasta alla chitarra with meat ragù, and aged pecorino. The extract asks for fat. Serve at 17–18°C and decant anything under five years old.

Benchmark Producers Torre Zambra, Valle Martello.