Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2001

Emidio Pepe has been working Montepulciano d'Abruzzo by hand since 1964, entirely natural and manual, vineyard through cellar, and this 2001 is what a quarter century in bottle does to that kind of conviction. Pergola-trained fruit off blue clay marls, iron and manganese in the soil, and a wine that unfolds slowly rather than announcing itself: personality and balance over polish. Twenty-five years of patience, and Pepe never rushed a thing.