Tiberio Pecorino 2021
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With intense aromas and flavors of sage, rosemary, green fig, peach, yellow melon. Full bodied and with a lingering minerality.
Pair with seafood, pasta, legumes, white meats, and cheese.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pecorino is understated in the glass yet very pretty, showing nuances of kiwi and chlorophyll, giving way to exotic florals and wet stone. Its textures are surprisingly luxurious, plush even, yet this is salty to the core with mineral-tinged green melon and hints of fresh mint. A mineral staining lingers through the finale, finishing long yet energetic and lightly structured. Wow, the 2021 is a warm and dry vintage for Pecorino that drinks with such refinement.
He made the plunge in 2000, purchasing the 8 hectare old vine plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese with 31 hectares of land suitable for his single estate wines. Guided by decades of personal experience and one of Italy’s most renowned nurseries, Riccardo planted a selection of indigenous varieties matched to the different soil characteristics in the vineyard. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Trebbiano Abruzzese, and Aglianico, were planted along with Pecorino and Moscato di Castiglione clones from ancient vines in the area. Experiments with small plantings of international varietals were also undertaken. When Tiberio released its first vintage in 2004 the wine cognoscenti took notice of Tiberio’s mineral whites and fruit forward reds.
In 2008, Riccardo Tiberio handed over the reins of the winery to his highly competent children, daughter Cristiana and son Antonio. The role of agronomist goes to Antonio while Cristiana handles the winemaking duties. While Cristiana has traveled the world, she believes "that you can only truly make a wine with the greatest expression of the place if you have lived there and really understand the climate and sense of the place."
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
A warm, Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, in Abruzzo, the distance from mountains to seaside is relatively short. The Apenniness, which run through the center of Italy, rise up on its western side while the Adriatic Sea defines its eastern border.
Wine composition tends to two varieties: Abruzzo’s red grape, Montepulciano and its white, Trebbiano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can come in a quaffable, rustic and fruity style that generally drinks best young. It is also capable of making a more serious style, where oak aging tames its purely wild fruit.
Trebbiano in Abruzzo also comes in a couple of varieties. Trebbiano Toscana makes a simple and fruity white. However when meticulously tended, the specific Trebbiano d’Abruzzo-based white wines can be complex and long-lived.
In the region’s efforts to focus on better sites and lower yields, vine acreage has decreased in recent years while quality has increased.