Published by Jeremy.
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One of our favorite things about seeking out new grapes is the conversations we have along the way. When we picked up a bottle of Settevigne's Tintilia del Molise in a local shop, the owner was a bit shocked that we were picking up a bottle.
“What drew you to Tintilia Del Molise?”
Well, we hadn't reviewed a bottle, and honestly I wasn't quite sure we had a varietal bottle in the past, either. So naturally we were in to try this red wine from Molise!
Tintilia del Molise is a Flavorful Italian Red Wine
This Tintilia del Molise was pale ruby in color and had medium aromas of red cherry, leather, clove, tobacco, cacao, violet, blackberry, red currant, chalk, dried leaves, and had an almost dusty-like quality to it.
On the palate, it was dry with medium(+) acidity, chalky tannin, and finish, plus medium alcohol, body, and flavor intensity. The wine was more fruit-forward than the aroma, with red cherry, red raspberry, wet stone, clove, cedar, black pepper, blackberry, leather, and olive being present, as well as fainter notes that we would also have described as dusty.
We keep throwing the dusty descriptor around here, and honestly, before this wine had never had that note come out so prominently, yet also, oddly, work. So this was a very interesting wine indeed!
Tintilia del Molise Food Pairing – Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Caesar Salad
We paired this Tintilia del Molise with homemade busiate pasta with a Sicilian sun-dried tomato and olive pesto, as well as a Caesar salad.
The pasta really helped more blueberry and darker fruit notes come out in this wine, and the olives in the pesto really helped that minor olive note in the wine sing. The characteristics that we would have defined as dusty were not present with the pairing, and it was quite nice all around.
The Caesar salad, on the other hand, only showcased more bright, tart red fruit notes, which, while a bit simple, were still enjoyable.
Score 3.5 / 5
We'd buy another glass of this one and a bottle in the right context.
Overall we really enjoyed this Tintilia del Molise, dusty notes and all, and would always be up for a glass and a bottle with the right food pairing. If you're looking for something just a bit different, check this one out!
Claudio Cipressi is located at Contrada Montagna 5/B, 86030 San Felice del Molise, Italy. We purchased this bottle locally and enjoyed it in 2025.
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