This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for White Regional Italy over £15 went to Casal Thaulero, Thalè, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 2007 (14.2%)
Tasted against:
- Anselmet, Petite Arvine, Valle d’Aosta 2012
- Borgo Paglianetto, Jera, Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva 2010
Profile:
Trebbiano is a grape often tarnished with a shoddy reputation, but in the hands of Abruzzo’s most skilful producers, and with the right clone, it is capable of producing wines of rare character.
The Thauleros family were nobles who rose to prominence in the 1800s, and Thalè was the first wine it produced from its 2,000 hectares of vineyards. Over the centuries this winery forged a reputation as one of Abruzzo’s finest; indeed it was the first producer in the region to export its wines. In the 20th century the family ran out of heirs and the winery was under threat of closure, but fortunately it was rescued by a group of local producers in 1961.
Today Casal Thaulero has 800ha of vineyards in three locations: one plot near the Adriatic Sea; a second in the heart of Abruzzo and a third at the bottom of the Gran Sasso mountain, at 850m altitude. Total production from the three sites is 1.8 million bottles a year, although Thalè – made from the best fruit from all three vineyards – represents only 12,000 bottles; it is only made in the best vintages.
While a good deal of Trebbiano is drunk almost immediately on release, Casal Thaulero believes that the finest examples need at least three years in bottle before they start to fully realise their potential, as this Trophy proves.
Written by Decanter
