Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC Selezione Vecchie Vigne 2003

Wine Description for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC Selezione Vecchie Vigne 2003 by Emidio Pepe

Character

Emidio Pepe is regarded as a living legend of the Italian wine scene and an uncompromising advocate of traditional winemaking. His Selezione from old vines represents Montepulciano d’Abruzzo in its most authentic form – without oenological tricks, without temperature control, without sulphur during fermentation. The 2003 vintage, shaped by extreme heat across Europe, demonstrates here the concentration and power that old vines can develop even under stress. After two decades of bottle age, a wine of remarkable complexity and Mediterranean soul reveals itself.

Terroir & Origin

The Abruzzi, wedged between the Adriatic and the Apennines, offers a unique microclimate with cool night temperatures despite sunny days. Pepe’s vineyards in Torano Nuovo lie on calcareous soils that lend the Montepulciano grape structure and minerality. The old vines, ungrafted and own-rooted, dig deep into the soil and extract depth and concentration. The hot vintage of 2003 challenged these plants, but rewarded them with extraordinary fruit concentration.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – not to be confused with the Tuscan Vino Nobile – is a late-ripening, thick-skinned variety with naturally high tannin content. Pepe practises radical handwork: hand-harvesting, hand-destemming, spontaneous fermentation in concrete, months-long maceration on the skins. Ageing takes place exclusively in concrete and glass demijohns, bottling without filtration. Each bottle is hand-sealed with wax. This purist method allows the wine to express its origin unfiltered – with all the rustic elegance that emerges from it.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A wine of this maturity and structure calls for hearty, traditional cuisine: arrosticini (the typical lamb skewers of the Abruzzi), game in dark sauce, aged Pecorino or beef braised in red wine. This wine also shows its earthy side with truffle dishes or mushroom risotto. The developed tannin structure harmonises perfectly with rich meat dishes.