La Valentina's 2018 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Spelt is darkly concentrated with an inky garnet appearance. The fruit is on the mature side with dried plum and baked cherry, and this vintage is somewhat faded overall without the same level of bright energy that we see in 2019, generally speaking. I would recommend this bottle for near-term drinking. Fruit comes from a 20-hectare site that sits between 150 and 400 meters in elevation with medium-thick clay soils. Production is 51,000 bottles.

With some 50,000 bottles released from a skilled winemaking team, La Valentina's 2015 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Spelt provides excellent value. The wine proves handy and versatile in any basic food pairing. It offers a reasonable 13.5% alcohol, soft tannins, good volume and plenty of black and purple fruit flavors. It undergoes 16 months in both new and neutral wood, and there is enough spice, tar and licorice—all delivered in delicate, little pulses—to add to the wine's overall appeal.

The 2013 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Spelt is a dark and brooding wine that shows the power and the muscle of the dramatic Abruzzo landscape. This is a wine of firm consistency and sharp contours, much like the rocky peaks of this mountainous corner of Central Italy. Dark fruit and plum are followed by spice, leather and tobacco. This is a rough and tough red wine for cold winter nights.

The 2011 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Spelt bursts open with savory tones of dark spice, barbecue smoke and mahogany. The quality of the fruit at the back is dark and jammy. You definitely feel the warmth of the 2011 summer heat in this vintage. Montepulciano already offers a soft and chewy taste profile with plump tannins and fruit-driven roundness. Those qualities emerge with more intensity here.

The delicious 2010 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva Spelt is an opulent and bold wine with meaty dark tones of prune and plum followed by barbecue spice, tobacco and leather. What stands out most is the softness of the tannins and the velvety rich nature of the mouthfeel.