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Recently we tasted Podere Castorani Majolica rosso which is a 100% Montepulciano D’Abruzzo variety and a great value.  We hoped that Yarno Trulli signature variety would be as good.  Maybe Yarno has his name on the wrong wine.

The Yarno red is also a Montepulciano D’Abruzzo variety, but the aging process is quite different…more time in oak.  For some reason the taste is very chalky, and the tannins and acid seem high.  That nice lingering fruit sweetness from the Majolica is not there.  What is there seems to be dominant licorice and tobacco flavors. The vintner’s tasting notes indicate a long finish and nice balance.  We did not observe this.

The fruit seemed muted and lacked sweetness.  We noted some blackberry and cherry but very faded.  And very little sweet nose.  We tried it with pasta sauce and with Bragiole but the acid taste seemed to overwhelm the food.  We expected more from this wine.

We chose to re-cork the bottle and try some a day later.  Strangely it tasted smoother and slightly more balanced.  Maybe this one really needs to age, or should be decanted.  Since we only had a single bottle for the tasting, we’ll reserve judgment on Yarno Rosso.  Suffice it to say, the wine is pretty decent for under $15.  But the Majolica seems to be the better choice.