After traveling the world, young winemaker Ludovica Crugnale followed la chiamata (the calling) back home to create classic wines in her native Abruzzo. After spending time soaking up the knowledge of her mentor, Riccardo Cotarella, she’s crafted this gorgeous La Chiamata Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, with intense dark fruit flavors. A bestseller, it’s now available in this 1.5L magnum bottle.

Ludovica works in an ultra-modern cellar, while championing the great time-honored winemaking methods of the region. For La Chiamata, she looked to local legend Signora Maria Elisii, who carefully hand tends and harvests precious Montepulciano grapes in her beloved four-hectare (a little less than 10-acre) vineyard.

Maria, who has now become dear friends with Ludovica, began working in the area in the 1950s—traditionally, women harvested, selected and cleaned grapes, before packaging them in special boxes to deliver to cooperatives. Today, she and her son Graziano specialize in limited-production releases like this one.

JOne sip and you’ll know why the silky, black-fruited gem that sings with expressive black cherry and plum flavors has become a customer favorite. It’s SO beloved, in fact, Ludovica decided to bottle some in this new, large format.

With a lovely intensity and ripeness, La Chiamata is ready to impress on its own or with food. For pairings, you can’t go wrong with full-flavored cheeses, pastas or red meats.