2017 release. Tertiary note with prominent autumn leaf aromatics. The trace of salinity somewhat brings you to the hills of Torano Nuovo where the winery is located. Fruit is in scant supply, but that can be the perfect profile for white truffle pairing. Pepe is nothing but unconventional; confidence, if you would like.
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Italian Tasting with some Old Quintarelli and Emidio Pepe Wines (St. Paul, MN): Pale brick red color, clear 5mm+ margin. 2oz tasting pour over 40 minutes. The nose is quite interesting, lots of secondary and tertiary character, prune, dried cherries, leather, horsey, saddle leather, earthy, cranberry. The palate is very light bodied, tart red fruits, dried fruit, cherry, spice, caramel, alcohol and spice. The finish is medium and at times shows some heat. On the whole this was nice for 40yrs old. There is still some fruit , but it is faded. Fun to drink.
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Brown and muddy, but it gets a lot better from there. Lovely aroma with earth, dark berry and rose. Delicate flavors but with good grip and acidity. A lovely and memorable wine that has not declined in the last couple of years.
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Cork was in excellent shape, appeared to be less than fifteen years old and probably younger than that. I hear these are aged in bottle at the winery and then decanted into a new bottle before release. The label looks suitably old so not sure what the situation is . I let the bottle stand upright for four or five days before opening. There was about a glass of sediment and chalky liquid left in the bottle after carefully decanting. Immediately out of the bottle the wine was surprisingly open with aromas of cherries, cranberries, leather, and VA and a little barnyard popping in and out. Unfortunately the palate was a little thin and acidic initially, so I set the wine aside for a while and checked back in periodically. It didn't get any better and if anything, lost whatever initial complexity it had. It's apparent that there is a lot of bottle variation with this wine, so your luck may be better, but it's a rather expensive gamble. I can certainly see the potential but this particular bottle is past prime.
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Dinner at l'Artusi (w/Sam's friends: Marcus (his 39th bday), his wife Shannon; Theo and MJ; John and Casey; Cliff and Morgan; and Gautaum) (West Village, New York City): Bricked transparent blood. The nose is very much like the '78 Vietti (Barolo Rocche): vitamins, caramel, rustic leathery horse sweat -- but, unlike the Vietti, also lilac, roses, and deepest, sweetest bing cherry; milk chocolate. Crazy complex! The palate is thinning but still robust; cherry, coffee. But where this wine really shines is on the finish -- it is v v long with cherry and is finely grained to the last. Delicious, but nevertheless something of a curiosity. Later, with more time open, it sings of herbs -- thyme, singed rosemary, even some tarragon. Fascinating. A splendid curiosity...! What a wonderful treat.
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Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vertical (Joe & Magda's, NYC): Lovely complex fruit and earth mulch. Has an earthy, almost dirty quality that I'm sure is not for everyone, but I love it. A wine of great character with lots of forest floor and a surprising amount of juicy red fruit given that it is nearly 40 years old. WOTN for me and the group.
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this is being written after the fact (2/2007) wish i could remember more about this classic example of the best that abruzzi has to offer. i must have been impressed since this is one of a handfull of abruzzi consumed bottles that i saved as a memento. this vintage still appears on select restaurant lists, particularly at palladino restaurant at borgata. will have to go to bring back the memories. one reviewer describes the vintages between 1974 and 1979 as austere.
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11/25/2020 - jchan1 wrote: 92 Points
2017 release. Tertiary note with prominent autumn leaf aromatics. The trace of salinity somewhat brings you to the hills of Torano Nuovo where the winery is located. Fruit is in scant supply, but that can be the perfect profile for white truffle pairing. Pepe is nothing but unconventional; confidence, if you would like.
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9/6/2020 - SimpleBoyFromD Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium body, still has several years left. Red fruit and delicious.
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8/8/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 89 Points
Italian Tasting with some Old Quintarelli and Emidio Pepe Wines (St. Paul, MN): Pale brick red color, clear 5mm+ margin. 2oz tasting pour over 40 minutes. The nose is quite interesting, lots of secondary and tertiary character, prune, dried cherries, leather, horsey, saddle leather, earthy, cranberry. The palate is very light bodied, tart red fruits, dried fruit, cherry, spice, caramel, alcohol and spice. The finish is medium and at times shows some heat. On the whole this was nice for 40yrs old. There is still some fruit , but it is faded. Fun to drink.
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4/23/2014 - Mistress of Wine Likes this wine:
Brown and muddy, but it gets a lot better from there. Lovely aroma with earth, dark berry and rose. Delicate flavors but with good grip and acidity. A lovely and memorable wine that has not declined in the last couple of years.
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10/14/2013 - BillBell73 wrote:
Cork was in excellent shape, appeared to be less than fifteen years old and probably younger than that. I hear these are aged in bottle at the winery and then decanted into a new bottle before release. The label looks suitably old so not sure what the situation is .
I let the bottle stand upright for four or five days before opening. There was about a glass of sediment and chalky liquid left in the bottle after carefully decanting. Immediately out of the bottle the wine was surprisingly open with aromas of cherries, cranberries, leather, and VA and a little barnyard popping in and out. Unfortunately the palate was a little thin and acidic initially, so I set the wine aside for a while and checked back in periodically. It didn't get any better and if anything, lost whatever initial complexity it had. It's apparent that there is a lot of bottle variation with this wine, so your luck may be better, but it's a rather expensive gamble. I can certainly see the potential but this particular bottle is past prime.
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8/3/2013 - Matt Neel Likes this wine:
Dinner at l'Artusi (w/Sam's friends: Marcus (his 39th bday), his wife Shannon; Theo and MJ; John and Casey; Cliff and Morgan; and Gautaum) (West Village, New York City): Bricked transparent blood. The nose is very much like the '78 Vietti (Barolo Rocche): vitamins, caramel, rustic leathery horse sweat -- but, unlike the Vietti, also lilac, roses, and deepest, sweetest bing cherry; milk chocolate. Crazy complex! The palate is thinning but still robust; cherry, coffee. But where this wine really shines is on the finish -- it is v v long with cherry and is finely grained to the last. Delicious, but nevertheless something of a curiosity. Later, with more time open, it sings of herbs -- thyme, singed rosemary, even some tarragon. Fascinating. A splendid curiosity...! What a wonderful treat.
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6/1/2012 - kenv Likes this wine: 97 Points
Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vertical (Joe & Magda's, NYC): Lovely complex fruit and earth mulch. Has an earthy, almost dirty quality that I'm sure is not for everyone, but I love it. A wine of great character with lots of forest floor and a surprising amount of juicy red fruit given that it is nearly 40 years old. WOTN for me and the group.
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1/1/1980 - bacchus wrote: 92 Points
this is being written after the fact (2/2007) wish i could remember more about this classic example of the best that abruzzi has to offer. i must have been impressed since this is one of a handfull of abruzzi consumed bottles that i saved as a memento. this vintage still appears on select restaurant lists, particularly at palladino restaurant at borgata. will have to go to bring back the memories. one reviewer describes the vintages between 1974 and 1979 as austere.
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