While Amorotti may not be an ancient winery, it has quickly become one of Abruzzo’s most famous. Originally coming from a family of olive oil producers, Gaetano Carboni, instead, went to law school and had a lovely career lined up when the Siren call of the family farm drew him back to the small town of Loreto Apruntino in the Abruzzo’s rugged foothills of the Gran Sasso mountain range. Using his mother’s maiden name to distinguish the wine business from the olive oil concern that is still operational, he set about refurbishing the family wine cellar and the vineyards of Montepulciano and the white Trebbiano that have been in the family for over a century. The renovation project took decades and it was only in 2016 that Gaetano began bottling a single red, a single white and a single rose only from the best fruit from any given vintage. In fact, Gaetano and his wife sell fully 75% of the grapes they harvest to other producers. They also run an Agriturismo and an artist-in-residence program from their beautiful farm. Gaetano will be the first to tell you he had help turning Amorotti into a top producer. His property is next door to Valentini, Abruzzo’s most venerable and famous producer and both Edoardo and Francesco Valentini helped him replant his vineyards and have been invaluable in the cellar too. Under their guidance, Gaetano had his vineyards certified ‘biologique’ (organic) and learned the art of ‘hands off’ winemaking, a skill that quickly allowed the quality of his fruit to shine. We’ve purchased not only the fabulous, dark, earthy and exotic Amorotti Montepulciano, but also the equally rare and exciting Cereasuolo d’Abruzzo, a Rose-style wine that is anything but ordinary. The perfect wine for spring cooking (as opposed to spring sipping- this is not that kind of wine!), at three years past the harvest, this spicy, aromatic dry pink wine is well-nigh drinking perfectly! But this month’s Super is all about red, and Gaetano’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a dark, heady one packed with briary, savory flavors and tannin profile that will match perfectly with richer dishes like the braised lamb chop dish from the Le Marches below.  Drink it now or hold as long as you like, this is an intense, exciting red that will last decades if you let it. But why let it?????