This wine draws fruit from the estate's Vigna Storica del 1952. With more smoke and savory notes that recall leather and spice, this might be your go-to for marinated tri-tip and a baked potato. The Valle Reale 2015 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo San Calisto is a complete, classic wine with generous, soft tannins. It offers a medium-term drinking window: not too long and not too short. Grapes come from the San Calisto vineyard, which has a traditional overhead trellising system, or pergola. The wine is fermented and aged in large oak casks. A mere 6,108 bottles were made.

Spice and bresaola hints are an aromatic entry for this medium-bodied red, accenting mulled black cherry and plum fruit notes. Creamy and balanced, with light tannins on the subtle finish. Drink now through 2018. 660 cases made, 450 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Italy / Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Select to Add

Opening to dark, jammy fruit, the 2011 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo San Calisto is a rich and decadent expression from a warm vintage. The wine delivers most of its power and intensity upfront in the form of sweet cherry and blackberry. There are lingering tones of resin, spice and dark tobacco at the back. The wine offers soft tannins and a chewy consistency but those sensations are not particularly long lasting. San Calisto promises medium length and sweet fruit flavors.

Lightly tangy and mouthwatering, with a hint of tarry smoke underscoring the flavors of cherry, plum, salumi and grilled mushroom. Open-knit and balanced, presenting a moderate, herb-tinged finish. Drink now through 2017. 670 cases made, 300 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Italy / Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Select to Add

The cask-aged 2009 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo San Calisto is the biggest and most structured of these wines. Earthiness, scorched earth, tobacco and red cherries fill out the wine’s big, broad-shouldered frame nicely. The San Calisto comes across as intense after the Vigneto di Popoli, but it makes up for that with its considerable complexity. Hints of tobacco, scorched earth and licorice linger on the dark, brooding finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2019. Valle Reale is another of my favorite properties in Abruzzo. Importer: A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620