2016 Campi Valerio Sannazzaro Rosso del Molise DOC Italy 750 ml

This summer, our Italian sojourn took us to some of the most famous vineyards in Tuscany. And with a few days to spare, the tempting option was to put our feet up and revel in the region’s legendary good life.    

We resisted. Instead, we road-tripped it 300 miles down the spine of Italy and east across the Apennine mountains to the Adriatic coast, where just about every person at every table in every osteria—the odd tourist, sure, but mostly throngs of locals—was drinking rich, ripe Montepulciano, the sun-baked red that absolutely thrives in this tiny stretch of land between the mountains and the sea. 

It was at one of these tiny establishments in the town of Isernia where we made the discovery of the trip, which is now making its first appearance in the USA as a Wine Access exclusive: the 2016 Campi Valerio Sannazzaro Rosso del Molise, from one of the tiniest appellations in Italy. Made from 100% Montepulciano that ripens in the powerful sun of the small coastal region, the James Suckling 92-point Valerio boasts a super-fresh red cherry nose tinged with purple flowers and tons of red fruit energy—and comes with the kind of density and richness that’s hard to find in Tuscany and the north, especially for a price like this one.

We’ve heard from the intrepid friends and Wine Access members who have ventured down the Adriatic coast of Italy and returned raving about the Montepulciano-based wines—only to come up empty (or close to it) when they try to locate a bottle stateside. That’s because few of the wines are household names—Rosso Conero, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and Molise Rosso—and they’re not likely to bump Brunello and other classics from the shelf.

Knowing that there is a universe of red wine going unappreciated (by Americans, at least) is what set us on our journey, which ended at the stellar Exito Osteria Molisana in Isernia. The white stone-walled restaurant has a long list stocked with local reds, most of which will never journey west of the mountains, let alone across the Atlantic: wines like the Campi Valerio, which we knew we were going to have to bring back the moment we tasted it.  

Composed of 100% Montepulciano—not to be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a Tuscan wine made from Sangiovese—the Campi Valerio is grown on 25 acres of deep, stony, porous marl, which imbues the red grapes with a beautiful mineral character. The late-ripening variety thrives in the confluence of conditions created in this part of the country—the warm sun, rolling foothills, and proximity to the Adriatic sea—culminating in an intense bouquet of currant, black and red cherry, notes of vanilla and herbs, and a well-structured but smooth and rounded mouthfeel. 

This is the kind of rich, delicious red that’s enjoyed up and down the Adriatic coast of Italy, and it’s high time the joy made it across the ocean. We know you’ll love it here as much as we did over there!