The Colline Teramane are the northern corner of Abruzzo: a band of coastal and inland hills in the province of Teramo, closed to the north-west by the Gran Sasso massif and the Monti della Laga and open to the east onto the Adriatic Sea. Here Montepulciano finds the conditions for its most structured wine. Until 2003 the area was part of the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC; that year it became a DOCG in its own right, and since 2016 its official name has been Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
Land between mountains and sea
Vineyards cover about 172 hectares, with an output of 4,430 hectolitres. The soils derive from marine deposits between the Pliocene and Pleistocene: clay and silt, sandier towards the coast. The slopes are gentle, with good exposures. The climate is temperate and warm in summer, with day-night temperature swings brought by the nearby mountains.
Rules and styles
The regulations require at least 90% Montepulciano, with Sangiovese up to 10%. Minimum alcohol is 12.5%. The Rosso ages for at least one year, two months of it in bottle; the Riserva for at least three years, one of them in cask and two months in bottle.
In the glass it is deep ruby, almost opaque, with aromas of black cherry, plum, violet, liquorice and spice. The tannins are robust but ripe and the body full: a wine that gains a great deal from a few years in the cellar.
A history that passes through Hannibal
Viticulture around Teramo is ancient. The historian Polybius tells how Hannibal, after his victory at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC, crossed the Apennines and found in the Teramo valleys food and wine able to restore his soldiers. Around Atri a wine called Hadrianum was produced. In 1793 Michele Torcia described the Montepulciano grape in inland Abruzzo, around Sulmona. At the table it goes with grilled red meat, game, meat sauces and aged cheeses; in the same region, Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is its rosé version.
