The grapes are hand-harvested, sorted, 100% de-stemmed, crushed, and run into vertical, stainless steel fermentors. Maceration lasts a total of 35 days. The free-run wine is run into new and second fill (50/50) French oak barriques where it undergoes a spontaneous malo and then matures for 15 months. A strict selection of only the best barrels are given a light egg-white fining before blending in tank. It is bottled 24 months after the harvest without filtration.
The wine is made from 35 year old vines on just 4 hectares of clay and limestone. Only 875 cases were made and only 200 of those cases come to the US and just 30 of those cases come to Massachusetts.
So, for this one, due to its price point and aging potential we'll leave this to the experts on the 2005 vintage (2006 is still too new to the market place, but anticipation is that it will remain the darling of Spectator, Robert Parker and Gambero Rosso). Our feeling is that it shows the varietal expression, the depth, balance and concentration it always has, but the 2006 vintage is a bit more structured overall.
92 Points Inama & La Valentina 2005 Binomio The 2005 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Binomio is a huge, super-ripe and sumptuous red that reveals an extreme yet varietally true expression of Montepulciano in its layers of jammy dark fruits, tobacco, chocolate, earthiness, minerals and French oak. A sensual core of fruit is wrapped around the barely perceptible tannins in this racy, full-throttle wine. I am not sure how long the Binomio will keep, but it is sure to offer a thrilling ride over the next few years. The Binomio is aged in French oak barrels. - Antonio Galloni
91 points 2005 Binomio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo This is very fruit-forward, with intense blackberry, cherry and vanilla aromas that follow through to a full body, with big, juicy, soft and velvety tannins. A huge wine, but there's a freshness underneath. Has a voluptuous texture. - James Suckling
Binomio 2001 was hailed by Wine Spectator as the "greatest Montepulciano made" and awarded 95 points; vintage 2002 was hailed 91 points and vintage 2003 was hailed 92 points. Last year has seen Binomio 2005 voted Best Montepulciano of the Year from the Italian magazine “Il mio vino".
