2020 Emidio Pepe Pecorino Colli Aprutini IGT - Italy, Abruzzi, Colli Aprutini IGT (9/18/2023)
– popped and poured on Day 1 –
– tasted non-blind over 2.5 hrs on Day1; revisited on Days 2 and 3 –
NOSE: initially funky; interesting; has a bit of Grisette and Lambic on the Nose.
BODY: orange-golden yellow color had me concerned right out the gates; medium-light to medium bodied.
TASTE: actually tastes “fine” — lots of mineral, but also slightly oxidative – this is all at the 20 min. mark; natty, but not mousey; very interesting … a bit cidery; medium acidity; tastes more “natty” than anything else — a bit orange wine-ish. Stayed the same over 3 days. This was my first time with this wine, so I don’t know if this is what one should expect from this bottling. I can do the “oxidative white” thing when I want to, but I was not expecting that here, so it kind of threw me for a loop. If this bottle was representative (I have one more to assist in finding out), at this price point, I’m not a rebuyer.
I don’t mind the oxidative part, I just don’t think it’s particularly distinctive within that category, and that makes its $80+ price tag a pill too large for me to swallow. I was expecting something more “fresh” tasting.
I’m an avowed Pepe-fan boy, but I never quite loved their Pecorino. And to your point, Brian- Christiana Tiberio’s Pecorino is more attractive at a third the price.
Thanks for chiming-in, Dennis. I was hoping the EP signal would draw you in. Thanks for the Tiberio rec. — I’ve never tried that one, but am pretty sure I’ve seen it around — I’ll give it a whirl.
Tiberio’s quite good and value at the price. But I must say I was entranced by a 2012 version of this in 2019:
2012 Emidio Pepe Colli Aprutini Pecorino . I’d never had his Pecorino before and it was flat-out amazing juice. Creamy with some lanolin feel and also hints of buttered greens, pear paste, unripe banana and some marzipan, it also reflected some freshness and minerality at the same time when it was on my tongue. Descriptors are hard, but here’s one. It reminded me truly of a non-flawed right-place bottle of Chateau Simone. Pepe is a wine-whisperer of the first order.
That’s how I remembered it as well but it had been a few years since I’d had the wine. I too found my self with an amber 2020, so maybe some oxidation issues
When you have a young white wine that shows amber in the glass I would say it’s usually best to return it to the retailer. It’s a defect unless the wine is a macerated white; Pepe are very natural but not that kind of natural. In most cases the retailer can return it to the distributor, whether that’s us or someone else (we are not national for Pepe).
We have moved many of our producers to Diam or other cork alternatives precisely for this reason, random oxidation is more common than corkiness.
Yep thank you. I just wasnt sure if it was indeed macerated in the cellar. I didn’t think so but I had read a couple other tasting notes that mentioned the same color on this particular wine. Too bad!
Thanks for the Tiberio rec. — I’ve never tried that one, but am pretty sure I’ve seen it around — I’ll give it a whirl.