La Quercia Montepulciano d Abruzzo 2022

Antonio Lamona takes farming seriously enough that he says he would rather lose an entire vintage than put man-made pesticides in his soul. His father grew grapes before him, but Antonio was the first in the family to bottle his own wine, and today he runs La Quercia with three lifelong friends in the hills of Abruzzo. Their vineyards sit just a stone’s throw from the Adriatic, where steady sea breezes meet the cooling influence of the nearby Apennine Mountains. The 2024 Montepulciano is organically farmed, dry-farmed, and harvested by hand, then aged entirely in stainless steel with no oak to cover up the fruit. Expect ripe dark plum with earthy, smoky notes and fresh herbs, followed by a juicy palate and a savory finish. It’s an honest, wonderfully approachable expression of Montepulciano and exactly the kind of everyday Italian red that deserves a place at the table.