Antonio ed Elio Monti – Winery

The fact that some of the finest wines produced in Abruzzo come from the Controguerra region (in this case Contrada Pignotto) isn’t a secret but the wine’s being produced by Azienda Agricola Antonio ed Elio Monti, now run by cousins Emilia and Bruna Monti, still seem to be. The wines coming out of this family run winery are truly exceptional and by all means very serious in regards to their winemaking capabilities… the fact that Riccardo Cotarella has been at work here is very obvious. He’s been rated by Robert Parker as one of Italy’s top winemakers along with Angelo Gaja.
I discovered Monti’s wines in 2008 and was absolutely amazed at the quality. It definitely had that extra edge above most of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo available on the market today regardless of the awards they have won. But Monti has been collecting 90+ Parker Points consistently for many years now and still remain an insider tip. Not to mention, the price/quality ratio is incredibly high. In my opinion, it’s extremely difficult to find any wines of this quality at this price range. Parker has been quoted saying “Undeniably the greatest Montepulciano d’Abruzzo I have ever tasted.” and Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV in New Jersey has been praising Monti’s wines for the past years and stated in his February 2009 “Special Alert” newsletter “This wine is under $15 bucks and easily drinks like a $30 red.”

If you happen to be in the region, visitors are welcome to purchase wines directly from the winery. Emilia and Bruna Monti are two people very much in touch with their roots and regional culture with pride in the work they do… meeting them personally is a great experience. With international competition running fierce and so many wineries running after awards, it’s so great to meet people who are grounded and go about making their wine just as their fathers did. If prizes and high points are a result of their hard work, then it’s just a pleasant bi-product but not the main objective.

Contrada Pignotto
64010 Controguerra (TE)

Hours of operation:
Open all year round

Telephone: 0039.0861.89042

Website: www.vinimonti.it
E-Mail: info@vinimonti.it