Nestore Bosco Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Pan 2018

Region: Abruzzo, Italy

Grape Variety: 100% Montepulciano

Ever since Eric Assimov’s article in the New York Times about the high quality wines emerging from the Abruzzo region of Italy this category has been on fire. He particularly spotlighted wines made from Montepulciano, a variety that is often over cropped and used for making very basic, uninteresting red wines. Now there are a number of wineries farming with great intention and producing some of the most thrilling wines being made in Italy. Most examples are $30 a bottle or more, but we have found an excellent bottling that delivers for an amazing price.

This bottling is made by the Bosco family, who have farmed the high hillsides of Abruzzo for more than a century. Pan is their “reserve” level Montepulciano d’Abruzzo made from their best hillside vineyards. Thanks to the steep slopes this wine has considerably more concentration than a normal Montepulciano, and it spends several months in oak to build even more structure and character. The result is a full throttle example that is best served with something off the grill.