Organic and biodynamic.  Montepulciano and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The other thing my trip last year to Le Marche gave me was a healthy respect for the much-under appreciated Montepulciano grape.  Further south, in Abruzzo, where a lot of it is grown on vast flat tracts, Montepulciano can be pretty uninspired and the stuff of mass-market $12 reds, but in the Apennine foothills around Ascoli-Piceno (where those olives grow) in the southern part of the Marches, it’s an entirely different animal.  Here, at altitude, the rocky soils limit the yields and these nearly black grapes soak up the sun to develop deeply concentrated flavors and the structure to effortlessly last decades in the cellar.  The Marcelli family, Clara, Raffaele and their children Daniele and Emanuele, farm theirs- organically and, now, biodynamically, at around 750 feet on a hillside that faces the Adriatic to the east and the gorgeous Tronto Valley to the south.  Corbu, the fruit of their annual labors, is a preternaturally dark- even with the addition of around 10% Cabernet Sauvignon to lighten it- wine with an amazing and distinctive bouquet of fresh and dried herbs, fresh hay and smoky mineral that swirl around a core of densely packed mulberry and pomegranate. There’s a surprising hint of violet, too, we really loved.  A sip of this is like a springtime hike high through the olive groves, vineyards and forests that dot these arid Apennine hills.  That hint of rusticity on the tannins that follow is just a reminder that the south of Italy ain’t its north, and vive le differenza!  I immediately thought of spare ribs braised in chili-infused tomato passato, but a Pappardelle alle Cingiale or pork ragu would be a lovely pairing as well.  Or, really, how about a grilled hamburger!?  Even though you could, you don’t buy this to cellar.  You buy it to drink.  And, at $18 a bottle, we’re betting you’ll drink a lot of it!   Money well spent here.