Wine Tasting - Illuminati Montepulciano D'abruzzo

 The basics:

• Grape Variety - Montepulciano
• Country of Origin - Italy
  
• Region of Origin - Montepulciano D'abruzzo
• Vintage Year - 2019
• Price - $17.99

Wine Enthusiast Review:

"Bright aromas of ripe red cherry and blackberry blend with accents of cinnamon, clove, and chopped herbs.  It's supple in feel on the palate, driven by juice berry flavors, and supported by soft, rounded tannins.  It's an enjoyable entry to the Montepulciano variety."

Wine Folly Reference (135):

A high-quality Italian red found mostly in Abruzzo, where it produces wines with black fruit flavors and a smokey-sweet finish when it's made with care.  Tasting notes include red plum, blackberry, dried thyme, baking spices, and mesquite.  

My Review:

This wine has been by far my favorite wine to taste and has been the easiest for me to interpret various flavors.  Initially, I picked up on notes of blackberry, cherry, spice, and oak, but the most surprising hint I got was a rich, dark chocolate that supported the other fruity flavors really well.  The balance of tannins, acid, and sweetness was incredibly done - where I could pick up on each note without it overwhelming the other two elements.  Oddly, the wine had a buttery and creamy quality, which sounds like it would be conflicting with the fruity elements, but it worked incredibly well with especially the oaky and spicier parts of the wine.  I did snack on some popcorn and a few cheeses/fruits with the wine, and it was an interesting experience.  Some of the snacks paired really well with the wine - like the brie brought out that creamy aspect of the wine I was looking to describe - and others didn't pair as well as I thought it would - like some raspberries brought out more acidity than I thought, almost unbalancing the wine.  

This was my most enjoyable experience thus far, and I finally felt like I got an idea of what I should be tasting when I try wines.  Not only did I like all of the notes I picked up on, but they also worked well with each other to make the others complex in a way that made the experience more enjoyable. 

     

(I put this in another post, but it's still relevant to this wine) Yes, that's a Budda-esque head.  I was in DC when I tried this wine and was staying in a really cool and eclectic place - think the Thrombey house from Knives Out (with its own wine cellar with multiple bottles of super well-known and expensive wine - picture not included unfortunately). And yes the bottle is empty.  It never stood a chance.  Hence why I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture in front of the Budda-esque head.  

P.P.S. I loved this wine so much that I went back the following day and bought another two bottles - guess this may be a good candidate for me to consider purchasing a case.