2020 Tiberio - Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Archivio (750ml)

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Very few estates consistently overdeliver at every level, and this is certainly the case with Cristiana Tiberio's wines. They're delicious to the point of a prank - it's hard to believe there's not a candid camera somewhere filming your reaction. In a very short time, Cristiana has proven herself to be an elite Abruzzese producer whose wines manage to be both affordable and collectable.

Agricola Tiberio was founded in the year 2000 when Riccardo Tiberio stumbled upon a plot of 60-year-old Trebbiano Abruzzese high in the hills of Abruzzo. Now widely considered one of Italy’s most noble varieties, Riccardo was ahead of the times in recognizing the treasure he had found. His daughter Cristiana took over winemaking duties in 2011 after impressive stints at Selosse, Nicolas Joly and Egon Muller, and Tiberio has built an international reputation under her guidance producing unforgettable wines from Abruzzo’s native grapes.

Cristiana’s newest Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is called ‘Archivio’ because she considers the four Montepulciano biotypes that make up the wine as a sort of “living archive” of her estate’s historic Montepulciano vines. These old vines all come from a special vineyard site with a uniquely heavy clay presence in the subsoil. Spontaneous fermentation is carried out with natural, vineyard-specific yeasts that again speak to Cristiana’s desire for purity and unadulterated fruit.