WHAT

Red

WHEN

2023

WHERE

Loreto Aprutino, Abruzzo, Italy

Torre dei Beati takes its name from a detail in a 14th century fresco at the nearby Santa Maria in Piano church — a depiction of souls on Judgement Day heading toward the Tower of the Blessed. It's a fitting name for an estate that approaches winemaking with that kind of seriousness. Fausto Albanesi and Adriana Galasso founded it in 1999, converting the vineyard their father Rocco had farmed since 1972 to certified organic from day one. Their first bottle came out in 2000. Twenty-one hectares on clay-limestone soils at 250-300 meters, caught between the Adriatic Sea and the Gran Sasso mountains — the cool breezes from both keeping things fresh even in warm vintages.

The Montepulciano is the estate's original wine and the heart of what they do. Hand harvested in small boxes, sorted twice, macerated on skins for 20-30 days, then aged 15-18 months in second-use French barriques. Deep ruby with violet edges, dark cherry and blackberry fruit, earthy spice, and a structure that's firm but not aggressive. Long, clean, and genuinely expressive of the place it comes from.

Open it with lamb, grilled sausages, aged pecorino, or a slow-cooked ragu. One of Italy's most underrated regions at its best.