2018 Tiberio "Colle Vota" Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy

ABOUT THIS WINE

A brilliant light red ruby color. Intense, expressive, highly complex flavours of yellow peach, sage, cedar, cinnamon, marzipan, spices and soil. Long, deep, creamy, mouthfilling texture with refined, silky tannins and saline character. Finishes with intense energy. 100% massal selections of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, transplanted to a higher single vineyard, resulting in a specific biotype uniquely adapted to its microclimate, soils and altitude, uniquely suited to cooler, wetter conditions; 14.5% alcohol; hand harvested late in season – late October; fermented using only indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks; malolactic fermentation and aging in tank; bottled unfined and unfiltered; aged in bottle before release. Colle Vota is not a “Riserva” but is a “Single Vineyard” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
The Montepulciano that grows in the Colle Vota vineyard has different characteristics that separate it neatly from all the other Montepulciano we grow in our vineyards at Tiberio. The grape bunches and berries are much smaller, with crunchier and thicker skins. The Colle Vota Montepulciano also takes longer to mature, and this vineyard’s specific microclimate provides a longer hang time, producing a truly unique Montepulciano wine. Colle Vota vineyard tends to perform amazingly well in especially cooler, even downright rainy vintages. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine made from the Colle Vota grapes are uniquely refined and light on its feet, combining elements reminiscent of Burgundy’s Pinot Noir and Piedmont’s Nebbiolo wines, while maintaining a Montepulciano backbone and soul.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The story of Agricola Tiberio rings more like a new world tale than one from the old world of the ancient lands beneath the Majella and Gran Sasso mountains in Abruzzo. At 350 meters above sea level, twenty-three miles inland from the seaside city of Pescara, near the lovely medieval hillside town of Cugnoli, Riccardo Tiberio found a very old plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese vines, which, despite the variety’s name, is a rarity in Abruzzo. This is because the high quality Trebbiano Abruzzese grape (which has nothing in common with Trebbiano Toscano) had always been confused with other similar-looking but altogether different varieties in the region, that were mistakenly planted in its stead. Riccardo was so impressed and excited by his discovery of these roughly 60 years old vines that he decided to change his and his family’s destiny. As the export manager for a well known winery in the region, Riccardo knew well what truly high quality Abruzzo grapes could offer and what the modern world expected in wines.

He made the plunge in 2000, purchasing the eight hectare plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese vines he had fallen in love with, along with another 31 hectares of land suitable for planting and the production of 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. And so it was that 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 viticulturalist goes to Antonio while Cristiana handles the winemaking duties. She is a chemistry graduate with training stints in Champagne and Australia backed by repeated visits to the Mosel and Chablis. In 2011 she took over all the winemaking duties and is now solely responsible for the wines made at the estate. At that time, Antonio and Cristiana also decided to uproot the international varieties and to replace them with more Pecorino and Trebbiano Abruzzese. They chose to use massal selections from their oldest vines because over the years they found that their massal selections gave much deeper, more complex, and altogether better wines than those made from clonal selections.