Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC 2024: Sophisticated Italian Rosé

Not Provence pink, not a New World fruit bomb. La Valentina’s Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC 2024 sets out a different stall straight away: cherry-pink with an orange edge, a nose that brings strawberry and raspberry alongside pine cone and rosemary. Rosé with intent.

What sets a Cerasuolo apart

Cerasuolo means cherry-red. This is not a saignée by-product of a red wine but a purposeful style: 100% Montepulciano, eighteen hours of skin contact, then drained and fermented cold in stainless steel. Long enough to pull colour, fruit and a hint of tannin; too short to make a red.

The result sits between white and red. Structure for the table, freshness for the terrace.

In the glass

Aroma: cherry, strawberry and raspberry up front, then grapefruit pith, orange zest and the unexpected pine-cone-and-rosemary combination. Spicy, never harsh.

Palate: elegant, fine acidity, a subtle bitter twist. Not sharp; the pleasant grapefruit bitter that draws the finish out. Mouthfeel pure, with no weight to push.

Vineyard and cellar

• 30 hectares organic (ICEA), three districts
• Vines aged 26 to 39 years, 150 to 300 m altitude
• Hand-harvest 20 September – 4 October
• 18-hour skin contact, fermentation and ageing on stainless steel
• Bottling from January, 38,000 bottles a year

At the table

• Aperitivo, on its own
• Grilled fish, seafood pasta, cacciucco
• Roast chicken, tandoori, duck à l’orange
• Lighter summer plates that Provence rosé cannot weight-match

The grapefruit bitter cuts richer dishes; the fruit core lifts lighter ones.

Practical

Cerasuolo lands in the €10–15 bracket in Italy and is looking for Dutch distribution. For anyone willing to look beyond “happy pink”, this is the invitation.