An Enigma - Cult Wines of Abruzzo
2009 Valentini Trebbiano D'Abruzzo
"Valentini is one of Italy’s most iconic producers" - Antonio Galloni
The late Edoardo Valentini was not a man to give away his secrets.
And the world desperately wanted them...
He was able to take Abruzzo's duo of normally undistinguished wines, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo and Montepulciano, and raise them to cult status, to being mentioned in the same breath as the world's great wines .
Today, we focus on Valentini's 2009 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo is usually synonymous with being crisp and innocuous. In Valentini's hands, however, Trebbiano is endowed with textural complexity that puts it somewhere between Meursault and Condrieu.
This is a dense and saturating wine famous for its ageworthiness; with time a salty Adriatic minerality shows itself, a subtle earthiness that speaks of the dry, sun-scorched earth.
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Needless to say, Valentini's Trebbiano is very rare and highly sought after. The 2009 is only available at two other places in the U.S.
At $64.95 a bottle, this offers a complexity, elegance and singularity that is very compelling for the price. This is a wine that seems to create its own category. It's not Trebbiano, it's Valentini's Trebbiano.
Valentini is an estate shrouded in mystery, with a tradition of shunning media attention and marketing, raising winemaking to an art in relative seclusion.
Edoardo Valentini was a shy man, a quiet Italian eccentric along the lines of Josko Gravner or Prince Ludovisi of Fiorano. Yet the wines he crafted are lavish, extroverted, brimming with a flavor and texture that is absolutely unique.
Upon his death in 2006, his son, Francesco, took over continuing a legacy of secrecy, intrigue and greatness. He continues to quietly but powerfully craft the most singular expression of Trebbiano available.
What is known about the Valentini's methods all points to traditional winemaking and a maniacal commitment to quality. The vines are trained in the traditional pergola method and yields are aggressively restricted. The wine is fermented and aged in large Slavonian oak barrels, the youngest of which is 70-years-old - no barriques or stainless steel are used. When the grapes aren't of a quality deemed appropriate, they are sold to the coop.
Valentini's 2009 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo combines the cerebral, hedonistic and luxurious. It offers up floral notes, honey, chalk and citrus. It's a rich, powerful wine, but moves across the palate nimbly.
Valentini's 09 Trebbiano is a bottle to put side by side with the best 1er Cru white Burgundies or Chablis; the expressions are of course different, yet the quality, the finesse, the breed is comparable.
As with most things this handcrafted, this soulful and unique, quantities are very limited. Please give us your ideal order and we're try our best.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits