94
Ian Dagata - Vinous Media
"Deep ruby. Ripe but fresh red cherry and spice aromas are complemented by refined notes of lead pencil and coffee. Very suave on the palate too, with brightly focused red cherry, flint and herb flavors that carry through a very long aftertaste. Multilayered, deep and complex, Zanna is always one of Abruzzo's most refined Montepulcianos."
92 Wine & Spirits
"The 45-year-old vines at the Zanna Vineyard provides the fruit for this Riserva, aged in Slavonian oak for two years. It’s supple and concentrated, packed with black fruit that slowly yields hints of strawberries, red berries and licorice. The tannins remain smoky and as black as carbon, the finish clean and vast." Reviewed June 2015
92 Wine Review Online
"The flagship Zanna is produced only in the best vintages. Besides coming from old vines (45 years
average age) of a single vineyard called Zanna, the wine ages for four years at the winery compared to
only one year for the Riparossa. The 2010 Zanna has pronounced aromas of blackberry, spice and
flowers, with mineral notes joining those impressions on the palate. It is full-bodied with impressively
rich and smooth texture and soft tannins. For a wine so laden with fruitiness, it has beautiful complexity
and holds your interest as only great wines can.
One aspect of the Zanna that fascinates me is that the grapes come mainly from vines planted in
Abruzzo's traditional, overhead-trellis system, known as "pergola." Only 1100 vines occupy each
hectare of vineyard (about 450 vines per acre), compared to modern vertical trellis systems of 5000
vines per hectare (about 2000 per acre). The older system encourages large crops, but the winery
reduces the crop through green harvest, and has also begun converting the vineyard to vertical
trellises. The quality of the Zanna to me validates the much-maligned overhead trellis, at least in this
instance.
Another interesting aspect of this wine is that ages not in small barrels of French oak but in 25-
hectoliter casks (more than ten times larger than a barrel) of Slavonian oak; the casks are two and
three years old, and the wine spends two years aging there, followed by another two years in bottle
before release. To my taste, any oakiness that the casks might confer is so well integrated in the wine
as to be unnoticeable."
90 Wine Spectator
"Elegant and well-spiced, with a finely meshed range of black raspberry, licorice string, grilled herb and black olive flavors structured by velvety tannins. Medium- to full-bodied, with a sweet, lasting hint of fig bread on the finish. Drink now through 2025. 5,833 cases made." Reviewed 8/31/15
Montepulciano Riserva 'Zanna' is the winery's flagship wine, a 3 Bicchieri Award winner for years in a row. Produced only in the best vintages, Zanna is made with a selection of grapes from old vines (45 years old on average) from a single vineyard, pergola-trained with monitored low production through green harvest.
Zanna is intense ruby red in color, turning garnet with time. There are hints of blackberry, berry fruits, and dried flowers on the nose. On the palate the wine has great texture and soft tannins, with an elegant and long finish. It will pair perfectly with red meat, game, truffles, and aged cheeses, particularly gorgonzola.
Zanna was not produced in 2004, 2009 and 2012. - Importer's Notes