$30.99 on 6+ (code: 6saves2)

92 Vinous
Drinking Window 2025 - 2030
The 2023 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Bianchi Grilli Per La Testa is smoky in the glass, with a blend of spiced apricot, mint leaves and crushed stones. It opens with a pleasant inner sweetness contrasted by zesty acidity and a tart citrus tone, creating an energetic feel as a green-apple-like crunchiness forms toward the close. The 2023 leaves a salty flourish on the mouthwatering finish.
- By Eric Guido on May 2025
Fausto Albanesi’s wines are a perfect example of how new oak can be an excellent pairing with Montepulciano when used judiciously. His lineup of reds impresses from top to bottom, with one of the best entry-level offerings in the region. At the top of the pyramid, the rich and sensual Mazzamurello and the complex and structured Cocciapazza provide collectors with a choice of instant gratification over the medium term or delayed satisfaction over the long term. During this visit, Albanesi opened a 2004 Cocciapazza that was a model of perfect maturity. It’s important to note that even in today’s market, the current release sells for under $50. That’s a remarkable relative value in my book. As for the whites, they are just as enjoyable, if a bit less complex, but that’s splitting hairs. The new Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Diverto, sourced from sandy soils just four kilometers from the coast in Francavilla al Mare, is a shining example of the depths that these wines can achieve—vertical, deeply mineral and built for the cellar. In the difficult 2023 vintage, Albanesi fared better than many of his neighbors, with a 30% reduction in red wines but far less effect on the white wines.

VARIETY: Trebbiano Abruzzese 100%
VINEYARD: area 1 Ha altitude 300 m/above sea level orientation East
TRAINING: guyot. 2.50 x 0.80 meters
PLANTING YEAR: 2008
SOIL: clay-limestone
YIELD: 40-50 hl/Ha
VINIFICATION: A few days’ cold maceration with
the skins, then fermentation in steel and acacia
tonneau
AGING: 11 months on the fermentation lees in
the same fermentation containers
ALCOHOL: 12-13%

Winery: At our estate we only grow a few different native grapes, which we love to vinify in a single-variety style, for the sake of trying to express them as well as we can in our area for each single harvest. With the name “Bianchi Grilli” we appoint very limited white wine productions born from our will and pleasure to deepen and experiment, according to our grapes potential. Here in Italy “avere grilli per la testa” (literally “to have crickets in one’s mind”) means to have strange, creative, funny ideas.

By the way, “Bianchi Grilli” are some “white crickets” that we are not definitely able to put out of our head.