Italian Renaissance

I've always maintained a certain ignorance around Italian wine. It's never interested me to the same degree as the Rhone does, or any other region that produce well-crafted and gutsy wines. Even after living in Northern Italy, and patronizing a number of very charming enoteche, and discovering a number of pleasing wines, I've returned to France again and again to find my favorite reds. Trying to broaden my palate, and reignite my now mostly dormant Italian skills, I've spent the last few days drinking and thinking about Italian reds. Last night, it was Chianti Classico and Nero d"Avola, and tonight I cracked a bottle of Quattro Mani Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. This wine is the first in a series of four affordable Italian wines produced in four distinctive regions by Paolo Domeneghetti. The winemaker for this particular montepulciano is Attilio Pagli. A 2006 vintage, the nose was all mineral and vegetable at first, but the palate produced sour cherry, not-fully-ripened strawberries, cranberry and roses in addition to wet stone and green peppers. Light in body and tannin, even at 13% alchohol, it has an agreeable fruit-richness, without being overly expressive. While one wine-buyer suggested pairing it with red meat, its combination of rich fruit and subtlety would seem ideal with a pork and apple preparation. It has none of the rusticity I associate with Abruzzo wines, and indeed southern Italian wines in general, but rather a balanced palate, and a long and satisfying finish its purple-red color invited me to imagine when I first poured it.