Montonico Bianco

Montonico Bianco is an Abruzzese white burdened with one of the most confusing names in Italian viticulture. There are several Montonicos and several Mantonicos, spelled with an a, and people use the two almost interchangeably. They are not the same, they do not taste alike, and a good deal of what is written about one actually describes the other.

Origins and history The variety has always been grown in central Italy, across Abruzzo, the Marche and Emilia-Romagna, where it answers to Chiapparone, Chiapparù, Ciapparuto, Fermana Bianca, Firman, Rappenollo and Uva Regno. Acerbi described it well in 1825, and documents attest to widespread cultivation as early as the seventeenth century. In Puglia it is called Uva della Scala and, incorrectly, Pagadebiti, a name Italy has given to any number of generous croppers and which properly belongs to a different Emilian variety.

The name problem Montonico Bianco apparently also grows in Calabria as Greco Bianco del Pollino or Mantonico Bianco Italico, and this is where the confusion becomes serious. Writing about Montonico grapes and wines from Calabria almost always means Mantonico Bianco, a similarly named but unrelated Calabrian native. It should also not be confused with Montonico di Rogliano, identified in Guardavalle in 2008. The wines settle the matter: Mantonico Bianco is richer, more structured and genuinely tannic, while Montonico Bianco is not.

A significant parent Research published in 2008 established a parent-offspring relationship between Montonico Bianco and Garganega. That places it as either the sibling or the grandparent of the eight other varieties Garganega is directly related to, among them Albana, Catarratto Bianco, Dorona, Malvasia Bianca di Candia, Marzemina Bianca, Mostosa, Susumaniello and Trebbiano Toscano. For an obscure grape, that is a remarkably central position in the Italian family tree.

In the vineyard Montonico Bianco almost wholly succumbed to phylloxera, and very few old vines escaped. It is highly productive with extremely large bunches, averaging 450 grams, frequently 650 and not uncommonly a full kilogram, and getting all those medium-sized berries properly ripe is the central difficulty. One clone exists, I-UBA-RA MT32 UBA, of reportedly good potential, though the best producer of monovarietal Montonico has worked instead from old vines via massal selection.

Ripeness is everything Analysis of 2007 fruit found significant concentrations of the terpenes geraniol and linalool, but only at full, optimal ripeness. Below that the aromatics simply are not there, which given the size of the crop makes the grower’s job unforgiving. It grows mainly around Bisenti near Teramo, in Foggia and Bari, and in south-eastern Calabria, and has always been valued as a table grape as well.

Appearance and structure The wine is fresh and high in acidity with a slightly tannic, astringent mouthfeel, and it is fair to say it is not the last word in palate presence or textural richness. What it offers instead is fragrance and easy-drinking charm, and D’Agata is candid that this is the honest measure of it. Monovarietal versions are rare because the grape is usually blended away.

Aromatic profile Floral aromatics lead, with acacia flower most prominent, alongside anise seed and fresh herbs, and a delicate spice and fruit character in the better examples. The terpene content gives the perfume its lift where ripeness allows. It is a fragrant wine rather than a powerful one.

In the cellar Simple handling suits it, with stainless steel preserving the floral character that is the wine’s main asset. La Quercia deserves particular credit, having planted an entire vineyard to the variety and made the case for it as a monovarietal. Elsewhere it remains a blending component, which is why so little varietal Montonico reaches the market.

Key expressions

• Monovarietal Montonico from around Bisenti and Poggio delle Rose in Abruzzo.
• Old-vine wines from massal selections that survived phylloxera.
• Blended Abruzzese whites where it supplies acidity and perfume.
• Table-grape plantings in Foggia and Bari, its other historic use.

The question of aging There is little argument for keeping it. The acidity would carry the wine for several years, but the floral aromatics that justify drinking it are at their best within eighteen months and fade rather than evolve. The slightly astringent finish becomes more noticeable as the fruit recedes.

At the table Its acidity and light frame suit Adriatic seafood, fried vegetables and fresh cheeses, and the faint astringency makes it better with food than on its own. It works well with the herb-driven cooking of inland Abruzzo. Serve it cold, around eight to ten degrees.

Why it matters Montonico Bianco is worth knowing for two reasons that have nothing to do with drinking it. It sits close to the centre of Italy’s white-grape genealogy as a relative of Garganega, and it demonstrates how a single transposed vowel can scramble the literature for decades. That a handful of growers still make it varietally is a small piece of good fortune.