Tiberio
Archivio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – 2021
Region: Italy - Abruzzo
Tiberio
The story of Azienda 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 1150 feet/350 meters, twenty three miles inland from the seaside city of Pescara near the hillside town of Cugnoli, Riccardo Tiberio found an old plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese vines roughly 50 years old so impressive that he decided to change his and his family’s destiny.
Over a decade ago, Cristiana and Antonio, daughter and son of Riccardo, took over reins of Tiberio. Cristiana, a chemistry specialist who also teaches college sommelier and enology classes, handles winemaking and is the global brand ambassador. Antonio leads grapegrowing and viticulture. The dynamic team have established Tiberio, and Abruzzo, in the forefront of leading-edge wine making and renown in this central part of Italy. Today, Tiberio farms 74 acres/30 hectares of vines.
The Wine
Vineyard Profile
Archivio is a single vineyard Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOP coming from a specific 3 acre/1.2 hectare portion of our historical 6.2 acre/2.5 hectare vineyard, planted to 68 year old Montepulciano vines. It is from this vineyard that over the years we identified, selected and then propagated massal selections of Montepulciano vines with which we have planted all our Montepulciano vineyards.
The Archivio plot is a special portion of this larger vineyard as its the only plot on the whole property with a strong clay presence in the subsoil (limestone soil – subsoil with presence of clay and iron oxide). The Montepulciano that grows in the Archivio vineyard has different characteristics and so do the wines that are made with it. We identified four different Montepulciano biotypes that look and behave differently from other known Montepulciano biotypes and clones. It represents our estates’s historical Montepulciano vines library, or archive (hence the wine’s name: “archivio” in Italian translates to archive). The four biotypes have been named after our estate’s dogs, who are as much a part of our family’s history as the wines we make.
Differences between the four biotypes are many. They can be generalized in: one biotype is characterized by smaller round berries with thicker skins that reach full physiologic polyphenol ripeness with greater ease, Tione98; a second biotype that has grapes with thin skins (and therefore a lower skin to pulp ratio with more juice) and higher acidity levels, Quarmari15; a third by a much longer bunch and it is the latest ripening of the four, Diana18 (Montepulciano is a late ripening variety as it is); and a fourth biotype characterized by a very round leaf instead of the more typical multilobed, jagged leaf and by seeds that only rarely turn completely brown (therefore delivering a much more tannic wine that is nonetheless more often than not nobly tannic despite the seeds not fully turning color), Otto19.
The spontaneous fermentation carried out with natural, vineyard-specific yeasts only reaches higher temperatures, indicating how this specific yeast population is adapted to a specific environment and able to work at higher temperatures and lead to deeper natural extraction of polyphenols.
The result is a wine that is at once fresh and elegant but also quite powerful, with darker color, aromas and flavors, and greater density than our other Montepulcianos, a profile that is fully expressive of the wine’s specific terroir. For these reasons, and unlike all our other wines, the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Archivio is partly aged in oak (barriques, 30% new). The use of the barriques is not out of a desire to make an oak-aged wine, but rather a consequence of the wine’s specific characteristics and need for a greater amount of oxygenation.
- Vineyard Area: 3 acres/1.2 Ha
- Altitude: 1247 feet/380 meters
- Soil: Limestone, clay subsoil with iron oxides
- Vine Age: 68 years
- Vine Training System: Pergola Abruzzese – Canopy training system
- Yield: 37 Hl/Ha
Harvest Notes
- Hand harvested mid-October
- Fermented 40 days in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks using only indigenous yeasts
- Malolactic fermentation in stainless steel
- 30% of wine aged in barriques (30% new), 70% in stainless steel for 12 months
- Bottled unfined and unfiltered
- Bottle aged 12 months
Winemaker's Notes
Deep dark ruby with purple highlights. Intense aromas of smoky, dark cherry fruit and spices, elegant and powerful. The palate is lush with violet, rose and licorice notes. Fresh, vibrant and captivatingly smooth.
Wine Summary
100% massal selection Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from 4 unique biotypes; alcohol: 14.5%; single vineyard wine from 3 acre plot of historic vineyard; 68 year old vines in limestone overlaying clay subsoil with iron oxide; fermented 40 days in stainless steel using only indigenous yeasts; malolactic fermentation in stainless; 30% of wine aged in barriques (30% new), 70% in stainless steel for 12 months; bottled unfined and unfiltered; aged 12 months in bottle.
Technical Information
- 100% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo massal selection from 4 distinct biotypes
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- Total Acidity: 5.07 g/l
- pH: 3.37
- Residual Sugar: 1.50 g/l
- Extract: 29.2
Reviews
95+ Points
Fully saturated purple-ruby, and really very Montepulciano: no skin contact, and yet the wine is basically inky black in colour. High-toned aromas of raspberry and resiny oak give volume and flesh to juicy and penetrating raw dark berry and ripe red cherry flavours complicated by notes of spices, coffee, ink, and dark chocolate. Finishes with fine tannins and repeating elements of ink, coffee, and cocoa. Nicely tactile and full-bodied, this is a very good Archivo. First made in 2017, this is the only Tiberio wine that is matured in oak (30% of the total only, and in two types of 100% new French oak barrels for 12 months). Whatever you do, make sure you decant this two to three hours ahead at least, or double decant and keep the bottle open for six hours. 2028 – 2033
Ian D'Agata Wine Review, March, 2025
95 Points
Intense and brooding in the glass, the 2021 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Archivio smolders up with a blend of grilled herbs, ashen stones, menthol and dried black cherries. It possesses a core of cool-toned acidity, silky textures and masses of mineral-tinged wild berry fruits, creating a sense of pure elegance. Structured and dramatic, the 2021 leaves the palate saturated in primary concentration. Cristiana Tiberio’s experience with aging Montepulciano partially in barriques is paying off—each vintage of Archivio displays more and more balance. 2028 – 2038
Vinous, May, 2025
18 Points
Almost blackish crimson. Oyster shells and brackish sea water over pure brooding blackberry fruit. Black pepper and a suggestion of graphite. Polished yet edgy, with an ever-changing palate and firm long tannins. This has not even begun its evolution. Tightly wound, plentiful tannins and intense fruit. I would hold off for a few years before pulling the cork. Tips the entire idea of Montepulciano as an easy-drinking wine on its head. 2028 – 2042
JancisRobinson.com, July, 2025
92 Points
The 2021 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo “Archivio” from the Tiberio family is their old vine, single vineyard bottling, which hails from a special section of their vineyard where the chalky topsoil sits above a deep vein of clay and iron. As this terroir gives a unique personality to the wine, the family bottles it on its own. These old vines are trained on pergolas and this is the only Tiberio wine that is aged in barriques, with thirty percent of the casks new each year. Though, as the family notes, the use of oak here is not because they want to make a wine in barriques, but solely because the combination of these old vines and this unique soil composition is best suited to élevage in barrels. The 2021 Archivio is a fairly ripe wine, coming in at 14.5 percent octane and offering up a deep, ripe and fresh bouquet of sweet dark berries, espresso, cigar ash, dark soil tones, distant bonfire and a gentle framing of oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and nascently complex, with a rock solid core of black fruit, a fine foundation of soil tones, ripe tannins and a long, well balanced and chewy finish. The intense drought of the second half of the growing season of 2021 has cast its imprint on the style of this wine, giving it impressive depth of fruit, very firm tannins and good acids. This is a true long distance runner built for the cellar and will need many years before it is ready to drink. Once it is ready to drink, it will be excellent. 2045-2075+
View From The Cellar, September, 2025
91 Points
There’s a dark, brooding feel to this red, with tarry smoke, loamy earth and India ink flavors underscoring the crushed blackberry, black licorice, espresso and smoked paprika flavors. Shows good concentration, and its fine, sculpted tannins are tightly meshed today. Fragrant herb and spice notes play on the finish. Best from 2028 through 2036.
Wine Spectator, June, 2026
General Info
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Abruzzo |
| Appellation(s) | Abruzzo |
| Proprietors | Riccardo, Cristiana, Antonio Tiberio (father, daughter, son) |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Winemaker | Cristiana Tiberio |
| Annual Production | 8,300 9L cases |
| Farming (Sustainable, organic, biodynamic) | Sustainable |