A rosato that behaves more like an ultra-light red rather than a pink poolside quaffer.

Where It Grows:

Vineyard sources for this wine are located near the village of Monteodorisio, in the Chieti province of southern Abruzzo. Soils are a mix of clay and limestone and the vines climb up from the Adriatic coast into the foothills of the Maiella Massif, reaching an elevation of about 250 meters.

Who Made It:

The “Il Mostro” (“the monster”) line of wines is made by Poggio Anima, a joint venture between vintner Riccardo Campinoti (Le Ragnaie, Montalcino) and American importer Ronnie Sanders (Vine Street Imports). They collaborated with the organic Abruzzese producer Jasci & Marchesani to source the fruit for this wine, which,
like all the wines in the Mostro lineup, is named for a fictional character from traditional bedtime stories told in Europe (a striga is a winged monster with a taste for human blood).

What It Tastes Like:

Note the vintage here: 2021. Not only is that perfectly normal for Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, the wine is still fresh and vibrant. It combines tangy red cherry/red currant fruit with a considerableamount of savor: a kind of hibiscus tea/blood orange peel note that isn’t necessarily a “classic” Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo characteristic (they tend to be more resolutely fruity). It’s a great wine for pairing with food, even something as gutsy as the
Abruzzo classic, arrosticini (grilled lamb skewers).