Posted from CellarTracker
Had my first one of these earlier this year. “Singular” is the perfect word. Was wowza.
Congrats!
Yessir! Glad you enjoyed. Like many serious wines, Valentini Trebbianos really need time. They can seem undewhelming when young.
I can see that.
Mine was the 2012 Azienda Agricola Valentini Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, so different varietal, but gave the same impression.
History was fascinating. Love when a family transition goes well and even with the vine calamity, it appears the newer ones are still crushing.
wait what
Maybe it’s the round, nuttiness on the palate i’m referring to there. Or maybe it was a bit oxidized.
Alright, doesn’t sound anything like reduction, then.
The Valentini wines tend to be quite reductive in their youth, but they shouldn’t be particularly reductive at 10+ years, so oxidation sounds more like it - although it, in turn, sounds a bit worrisome, because these wines should age like crazy without any overt oxidative qualities.
However, to me, Valentini’s Trebbianos often come across as somewhat bretty. I wonder if that might be the case? NB, they are not overtly funky or barnyardy - they just have this distinctive, subtle funk.
On Christmas Eve I opened a 2016 Valentini Trebbiano that I purchased from a Zachys auction. I was very disappointed. It tasted thin and diluted. My only other Valentini experience was a 2019 Trebbiano that I thought was wonderful - I was really struck by the different layers to it and the lasting finish.
Maybe it was a bad bottle. I don’t know. I’m curious if others have any insight.
