Producer

Tenute Inverso

I have reviewed four wines from Tenute Inverso, from the 2021 to 2024 vintages, across Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo. Most are Montepulciano. Scores range from 90 to 94, averaging 92; the highest is the 2024 Tenute Inverso “Anfora” Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (94 points).

Tenute Inverso is a tiny, family-run discovery in Abruzzo with an honest, artisanal approach. It is dedicated to the region’s native grapes, Montepulciano and Trebbiano, farmed organically and made with minimal intervention, which sets it apart from the industrial norms of the area.

The estate is best known for its amphora wines. The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Anfora is fermented and aged entirely in clay, with spontaneous fermentation, little or no added sulfur and no filtration, in tiny quantities — around 2,000 bottles in 2024 and just 600 in 2021. Without wood, the rugged terroir of the Abruzzo backcountry speaks for itself: sour cherry, amarena, wild herbs and a smoky minerality, savory rather than jammy, with an almost saline texture.

The everyday Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, fermented and aged in stainless steel, keeps the grape’s crunchy energy: dark cherry, blackberry, roasted earth and black pepper. The Trebbiano d’Abruzzo shows how much depth the native white can have when carefully farmed, with lemon, green apple, almond and sea salt over a mineral backbone.