Valentini Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2024

The story of Valentini is one half of a tale of two eccentrics (the other being Emidio Pepe) who elevated undistinguished grapes from Abruzzo – a hilly region in the boondocks of central Italy – into some of the country’s most characterful and age-worthy wines.

Pre-Valentini and Pepe, Abruzzo was traditionally considered capable of only producing rustic table wines from Trebbiano and Montepulciano. Without the duo’s forward thinking and uncompromising ethos, this timeless Italian region might still be obscured by the more famous names of Piedmont and Tuscany.

Edoardo Valentini, who died in 2006 at the age of 72, restricted his commercial production to a fraction of its potential and refused nearly all requests for meetings from journalists and importers, and now this long tradition of reclusiveness is being upheld by his son Francesco Paolo and grandson Gabriele.

In parallel with the wines, Valentini produce one of the world’s best artisan olive oils, which they are equally enthusiastic about. Made from a local cultivar known as Dritta, it is an oil to be appreciated sparingly, grown, selected and gently processed with the same devotion to quality as the wines.