Villa Cerrina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Villa Cerrina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo I’ll keep this one relatively short as there’s not much to get excited about. This review adds fodder to my “there’s better places to shop for wine than Trader Joe’s” rant. Yep, it’s another wine from Trader Joe’s that rates less than 80.

The fruit is soft in this one. It has a little leather and currant on the nose, but it lacks intensity. If you’re looking for consistency with that lack of intensity you’re in luck as the palate also lacks concentration. What flavor is there is a bit of blackberry and currant. The tannins are soft and are probably the best aspect to this wine. In general this is also a bit off balance on the acidic side. Did I mention that it’s a very light wine?

The good news is that it was only $6.00. I may be dramatizing my distaste a bit only because I grow frustrated with all the people I meet who rant about Trader Joe’s as the place to get good cheap wine. In my experience, it’s not. This wine rated at a 79, so it’s not disgusting but you can find others that are much better without spending much more. Like Masciarelli, for example.

Wine: Villa Cerrina
Varietal: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 79
Price Paid: $5.99

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 and is filed under Italian Wine, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Red Wines. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Jason said on April 13th, 2008

Interesting take on Trader Joe’s and as big of a fan as I am I have to agree. It is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But when you do it is one hell of a find! Here are some Italians that I have enjoyed (rank ordered):

- 2005 Epicuro Aglianico ($5)
- 2005 Archero Nero d’ Avola Ruggero di Tasso ($4)
- 2003 Epicuro Salice Salentino Riserva ($5)
- 2006 Aquila d’Oro Toscana ($4)

If you grab them let me know what you think!

Jason said on April 13th, 2008

btw, all the above are available at Trader Joe’s here in northern California….

mm said on May 19th, 2008

personally, I thought it was fantasic, the lack of intensity was what i liked about.

Stefanaccio said on December 6th, 2008

Agree with above. A very good wine at a bargain price. Excellent table wine.

brett said on March 8th, 2009

Couldn’t disagree with your rating and evaluation more…thought it was excellent…especially for the price.

Tony said on November 11th, 2009

Wine is like art. You like it or you don’t. At my age,67, my tastes have gone from dry high tanins to softer wines , both red and white. The Villa Cerrina meets my taste and I like it. I don’t have all the descriptions that the experts use , but it tastes good and is very affordable

Kelly said on June 22nd, 2010

I disagree with the reviewer… after a steady diet of “two-buck-chuck”, my husband and I LOVED this wine.

Tim said on June 27th, 2010

Disagreements are allowed. But you’re probably tasting a different vintage, as this review is a couple years old. Nonetheless, I’m not too surprised that you enjoyed it more than two-buck-chuck, I’d consider it a step up. But try a couple other Montepulciano d’Abruzzos. You may like them even more. Cheers!