Tiberio
Pecorino Colline Pescaresi IGP – 2022
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
Pecorino is an ancient variety that has always called the mountainous Appennine ridges of the Marche and Abruzzo its home. A low yielding variety due to sterility of the basal buds, over the centuries farmers shied away from it preferring instead to plant easier to grow, more productive varieties. Therefore Pecorino was all but forgotten, and nearly extinct by the 1970s. Times change and today high yields are less important than they once were: modern day wine lovers now clamor for high quality grape varieties. Capable of giving distinctive wines, and Pecorino fills that bill nicely.
The grape is characterized by essentially round leaves and small round very thick skinned berries. The wine is rich in glycerol but also endowed with high total acidity, thereby offering a unique combination of texture and vibrancy. In fact, Pecorino wines have become so popular that much Pecorino has been planted recently, however the grape variety always performs best in hilly vineyard sites rather than flatland areas, which are not its natural habitat.
- Total area under vine: 3.8 ha/9.39 acres
- Altitude: 1250 feet/380 meters
- Soils: Limestone with marly-gravel subsoil
- Average Vine Age: 22 years
- Vine Training System: Guyot
- Planting Density: 4000 vines/ha
- Yield: 45 hl
Harvest Notes
- Hand harvested third week of August
- Free run juice only
- Fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks using only indigenous yeasts
- No malolactic fermentation
- Aged in bottle
Winemaker's Notes
Deep straw yellow. Pronounced aromas of sage, rosemary, green fig, peach and yellow melon. Full bodied with lingering minerality.
Wine Summary
100% massal selection Pecorino; alcohol: 14%; planted in limestone soils with marly-gravel subsoil; altitude 1250 ffet/380 meters; vines average 22 years; fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks using only indigenous yeasts and without malolactic fermentation; aged in bottle before release.
Technical Information
- 100% massal selection Pecorino
- Alcohol: 14%
- Total Acidity: 7.50 g/l
- pH: 3.10
- Residual Sugar: 0.30 g/l
Reviews
94 Points
Delightful, one of the best Pecorino wines ever made by Tiberio and that’s saying something, given they have made so many great ones. Absolutely delicious, this has the richness and size of the DX-SX and the refinement and penetrating lift of the CE. Long and lively, it’s absolutely delicious and speaks clearly of the grape: straw-green colour; lime, sage, and herbs; bright fresh and glyceral but lifted and precise on the long energetic finish. 2024 – 2030
Terroir Sense - Ian D'Agata, February, 2023
94 Points
Straw-green. Perfumed lime, sage, and herbs on the fresh nose, with hints of guava, green fig and papaya. Then also bright and fresh in the mouth, with a glyceral but lifted mouthfeel on the long energetic finish. Long and lively, this is absolutely thist-quenching and delicious. Strikes me as one of the best Pecorino wines ever made by Tiberio and that’s saying something, given they have made so many great ones. 2024 – 2030
Terroir Sense - Ian D'Agata, May, 2023
92+ Points
The 2022 Pecorino blends the floral elegance of the central part of Tiberios vineyards with the power, minerality and textures from the flat and hilly locations. Dusty florals and freshly sliced green apples elevate a spicy bouquet of ginger and crushed rocks. This is deeply textural, with a core of vividly ripe orchard fruit and spices carried across a spine of salty minerals. It lasts incredibly long, pinching at the cheeks with tension while leaving a tart twang of lemony citrus. This is a wonderfully complete Pecorino, ultimately blended from three different bio-types within the same vineyard. The final blend is 60% DX-SX, the highest and lowest part of the vineyard, and 40% CE from the center and mid-slope. 2023 – 2029
Vinous, August, 2023
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 |