Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC Sel. Vecchie Vigne decanted 2000

Wine description for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC Sel. Vecchie Vigne decanted 2000 by Emidio Pepe

Character

Emidio Pepe is regarded as one of the legendary figures of Italian winemaking – a traditionalist in the finest sense, whose wines require time to reveal their true greatness. This selection from old vines (*Vecchie Vigne*), specially decanted and with over two decades of maturity, is not a wine for the impatient. It embodies a purist philosophy: minimal intervention, maximum expression of place. The 2000 vintage brought ripe, concentrated fruit to the Abruzzi – the foundation for a wine that, even after all these years, should possess tension and depth.

Terroir & Origin

The Abruzzi is one of Italy’s most exciting and, simultaneously, most underrated wine regions. Between the Gran Sasso and the Adriatic coast, altitude, continental temperature variations and chalky, clay-rich soils create ideal conditions for profound, long-lived red wines. Pepe’s vineyards in Torano Nuovo are an expression of this rugged, primordial landscape – unadulterated and free from modern calculation.

Grape variety & Vinification

The Montepulciano is the soul of the Abruzzi: a thick-skinned, tannin- and colour-rich variety with potential for extraordinary longevity. Emidio Pepe has been vinifying according to the same principles for decades: no filtration, no fining, spontaneous fermentation, ageing in large old wooden casks. The particularity of this bottling lies in the selection of the oldest vines, which naturally yield lower crops but more concentrated and complex grapes. The decanting before dispatch is another sign of Pepe’s own, uncompromising path.

Food Pairing

A wine of this stature demands food with substance and character. Ideal are braised lamb shoulder in the Abruzzi style, arrosticini – the region’s typical lamb skewers –, game and beef roasts as well as robust hard cheeses such as aged Pecorino. Those wishing to enjoy it on its own should give it time in the glass: it tells its story slowly.