Valle Reale – Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC Vigneto di Popoli 2016

Valle Reale is a project, even before being a winery. Thus, at least, it was born in 1998 when the Pizzolo family, of Venetian origin, owned an estate near the Municipality of Popoli, on the Abruzzo Apennines, at the springs of the Pescara river that flows into the Adriatic Sea near the city bearing the same name.
The position, set between three different natural parks, on a south-east facing plateau, embraced by the mountains, makes this place special, isolated and historically suited to viticulture as traces of this activity date back to the Middle Age. It is precisely in discovering this long-abandoned story that the property decided to recover an old Montepulciano vineyard, with a study supported by the University of Milan. The experimentation lead to the choice of Leonardo Pizzolo to devote himself to the production and bottling of the wine of these territory, under the name of Valle Reale, dedicating all possible attention to the land. A parcelling work of different “crus” and a careful study on autochthonous yeasts were brought on, to allow the soil and the varieties to express themselves at their best.
Among the most famous vineyards of the property, Vigneto di Popoli is certainly one of the most renowned, with a history of viticulture probably dating back to 1300. Surrounded by forests, the vineyard, planted for one hectare in Trebbiano, with a draining soil poor in nutrients, offers an isolated and unique environment for what has been called a “Trebbiano of the cold areas”. Just over 6000 bottles are produced each year for this label.
The 2016 vintage was characterized by frost in April. The Vigneto di Popoli was only partially affected, thus operating a natural selection of the buds and therefore a more concentrated product, with excellent structure and complexity for aging.