Montepulciano Help

Looking for some solid recommendations on sub $25 Montepulciano’s. It would be nice if they were easy to source as well! Thanks

Try Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano…great wine for the price and currently at our Total Wine

Looks like a good thread to follow.

Avignonesi Vino Nobile is right around that point, maybe a tad higher. There’s another Vino Nobile I always see at Whole Foods that’s good and slightly cheaper.

The appellation or the grape?

Exactly.

There’s the grape variety Montepulciano which is often from Abruzzo and is reasonably priced, then there is the wine from the area surrounding the town of Montepulciano which is mostly made from the grape variety Sangiovese.

The way I find it, if the name Montepulciano comes first, that’s the grape followed by the region, (e.g. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo)
If Montepulciano comes last then that’s the town and the main grape is Sangiovese (e.g. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano)

I find them as a group (both Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) to be largely “drinkable but uninspiring” wines. There are some exceptions in the pricey, high end range (Avignonesi’s Grandi Annate and Poliziano’s Asinone). I have occasionally found the base level Avignonesi VNdM to be quite good. And Avignonesi makes a (fairly-modern-styled) Merlot called Desiderio which can be very good and ages nicely (although while it used to be a screaming value at $30-ish, it has now moved up to $50-ish and at that price I wouldn’t buy).

For wines in the price range being requested, I don’t have much help beyond stating that I’d personally rather buy Chianti Classico Riserva for that money (considering it as a substitute for VNdM moreso than MdA).

Not an answer to the OP’s question (too expensive), but you might want to try a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Pepe.

I have…I love them and should have identified Pepe in my mention of high-end, high-priced exceptions to my generalization.

I was mainly looking for the grape for some younger drinkers but would also be interested in the appellation as well. Thanks

Masciarelli is readily available and quaffable.

The best that I have had is Moroder Conero riserva but it’s been many years as I can’t easily find it in my market. Not sure if it meets your price target these days. I don’t have a huge amount of experience with this grape but have also enjoyed Valle Reale and Masciarelli.