Collefrisio 'Sottosopra' montepulciano (500ml)

Lovely medium-sweet dessert wine from Abruzzo.

Basically, this is classic red montepulciano with the fermentation interrupted while there's still some residual sugar. So far, so Port-like. But then comes the twist: a small amount of cherry juice is added to the wine, giving some extra acidity and fruit to the mix. It's a traditional technique using local Abruzzese cherries.

In the past these wines were often fairly rustic - to be charitable - but Collefrisio have cleaned up the style and made a dessert wine perfect for full flavoured cheeses.