La Quercia, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2014

La Quercia, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2014

A very smooth elegant concentrated wine with subtle ripe plums and black cherries. Tannin-free, supple and very moreish.

This went down perfectly over dinner with a few close friends. We ate Rachel Roddy’s pot roast lemon chicken with potatoes, anchovy and rosemary, my new favourite chicken recipe.

As with Soave, Montepulciano d’Abuzzo comes in all shapes and sizes. The larger co-operatives to the south produce a mass of inexpensive soft easy-drinking wines. They may lack character, but I find them less offensive than some of the ‘house wine’ alternatives. Once you pay €15 or more, you will find some very good wines, usually still soft and supple but with greater concentration and style – provided the producer avoids over-extracting or using too much oak.

€17.50 from Morton’s Ranelagh; Drinkstore, Stoney Batter; Power, Lucan; The Wine Library, Dun Laoghaire; Martins, Fairview; Coach House Ballinteer; Sweeneys, Glasnevin; Gibney’s, Malahide; Corkscrew, Chatham Street; The Wicklow Wine Co.