The 2021 Torre dei Beati Cocciapazza Montepulciano d’Abruzzo belongs in the same conversation as the finest Montepulcianos, Brunellos, and Chianti Classico Riservas out there. The difference? It costs a fraction of the price.
It was also one of Vinous Media’s top-rated Montepulcianos of the brilliant 2021 vintage, earning 95 points from Antonio Galloni:
“The 2021 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Cocciapazza has come along beautifully after another year in bottle. It’s silken and elegant in feel, with a wave of ripe red and black fruits flowing across a core of tactile minerals and spice. Drink now through 2040.”
What’s amazing is that Galloni scored this the same as Emidio Pepe’s legendary Vigne Branella ($200) and Vecchie Vigne Casa Pepe ($150). For nearly 30 years, Emidio Pepe has represented the pinnacle of what Montepulciano could be, but Fausto Albanesi of Torre dei Beati makes a strong case that he belongs in that conversation.
Produced from old, organically farmed vines planted in 1972 and aged for 20 months in French barriques, this is big, ripe, and concentrated, but it never loses its balance or elegance.
Give it a couple of hours in a decanter and it opens beautifully with notes of blueberry, blackberry, clove, cocoa nib, dusty herbs, and spice. Drink now or over the next 10 to 15 years.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville
