Fonte Canale – 2023

(96-98) Points

The 2023 Bianco Fonte Canale, still a year away from release, is a model of grace and understated power. This is youthfully coy at first, requiring coaxing to release its perfumed bouquet of white smoke, flint stone, wild flowers and raw almonds. The 2023 sweeps across the palate with a cool-toned personality and an inner floral resonance, with intense notes of nectarine and papaya. This finishes crystalline and gently tannic in feel, with salty mineral tones lingering long. The depth of concentration here finds balance by way of tantalizing acidity. This is one of the most complex interpretations of Fonte Canale I’ve tasted. It may be a masterpiece in the making. Of note, as of 2023, the Fonte Canale will no longer be classified as Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, but instead as an IGT. 2027 – 2040

100 Points

Is the 2023 Fonte Canale the best one ever made? I used to think that was a battle between the 2015 and 2018 Fonte Canales especially, but the more I retaste this wine the more I think it is not only at their level, but has surpassed them with age. Perhaps it has to do that , for the first time, Cristiana Tiberio decided to press the skins in an effort to extract even more (using 600 millibars of pressure, still very low) but it has to be done with care because the thick leafy canopy left in place to protect Trebbiano Abruzzese’s thin skins from sunburn so you just can’t go and press to your heart’s content (or if the vines were Guyot-trained). In any case, pressing the grapes now that the growing season has been shortened because of climate change is necessary, but at Tiberio they do it well and carefully. It shows in the superlative 2023 Fonte Canale, one of the best Italian white wines ever made.

Bright full straw-yellow. Deep, ripe aromas of mirabelle, yellow apple, pear, and spring flowers are more or less the same as always, but have a little more intensity to them. Then wonderfully vibrant and fine-grained, with terrific nuances of ginger and white floral lift to the fruit-forward orchard and citrus fruit and mineral flavors. This is bigger and denser than other recent Fonte Canales and will require longer to express itself fully but it’s clearly a fantastic wine already now. The wonderfully vibrant, palate-staining aftertaste is perked up by a note of lime oil, iodine and flinty minerality, complicated by hints of jasmine and lemon verbena. The 2023 is the first ever Fonte Canale not to be labeled as a Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, as the Tiberio family has decided, not unreasonably, to exit the denomination and this iconic Italian wine will from now on be labeled as an IGT Colline Pescaresi. A 100% Trebbiano Abruzzese wine made with grapes picked from what are now almost centenary vines. 2027 – 2039

98 Points

The 2023 Bianco Fonte Canale is one of the most complex and mentally stimulating wines of the vintage. Its spice box bouquet reveals dried flowers, lemongrass, dusty sage, stone dust and white peach infused with lemon zest. Its textures are round and pliant, with a stern mineral core that adds salty tension to ripe nectarine fruit and tart green citrus. A cheek-puckering tinge of sour melon leads to a finish of tremendous length and youthfully chewy depth. Despite the vintage’s difficulties, Tiberio has created something very special here. 2027 – 2040

The Tiberio vineyards look fantastic after the struggles of the 2024 vintage. While several vines did not recover, most of the ancient Trebbiano Abruzzese and Montepulciano vines are thriving thanks to a balanced and slightly rainy 2026 season. Spirits are high. On this trip, I toured all of the parcels planted with massal selections, as well as a new parcel planted entirely to trees. The idea behind this is to create a forest that will bring balance to the vineyards. As for the new releases, Tiberio’s Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is once again a standout in the category. I also tasted every vintage of the Colle Vota, from 2014 to the newly minted 2022. Its aging potential is commendable, and the 2014 is still fresh as a daisy. Tiberio plans to release mixed six-packs of this wine in the near future, with two bottles each of 2018, 2019 and 2021. The 2023 Bianco Fonte Canale, now in bottle, no longer bears the name Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. After years of research and genetic testing, Cristiana Tiberio no longer believes that the DOC accurately represents her wine. Whereas most Trebbiano d’Abruzzo is a blend of Trebbiano Toscano and other varieties, the Fonte Canale is genetically confirmed to be 100% varietal Trebbiano Abruzzese. The 2023 is one of the best renditions of Fonte Canale I’ve ever tasted.