Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vertical

Joe & Magda's, NYC
Tasted Friday, June 1, 2012 by kenv with 1,150 views

Introduction

A rare opportunity to try a fairly full vertical of the reds of this traditional and naturally made wine. A glorious event, but sad in that it was initiated by Steve H who provided about half the bottles, but he was not well enough to participate.

All Pepe reds double decanted around 5 pm. Dinner started at close to 9pm and ended close to midnight.

Joe's wife Magda is a professional chef of the first order. She prepared this glorious meal made almost entirely of traditional dishes from Abruzzo, the same region that the wines came from.

For pictures and more background, please check out my webpage:

http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2012-06-01_NK_Pepe_Joe/

Flight 1 - Starter: One White (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Flight 1: 1970s (3 Notes)

With Pasta with Red Pepper and Lamb Ragu.

  • 1974 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 97 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    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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  • 1975 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 92 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Muted black raspberry nose. Tart cherry in the mouth. Still tight and somewhat monolithic at 37 years of age. Will it get better with more time? Maybe. Perhaps 92 points or more if it opens up more.

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  • 1977 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 95 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Stunningly complex nose of red fruit, earth, and truffles. Sweet and sour cherry with long finish of complex black fruit and orange peel. Should drink well for another decade or more.

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Flight 3 - Flight 2: 1980s (4 Notes)

With Double Rib Lamb Chop with Salsa Verse and Chicory with Puntarelle Dressing

Flight 4 - Flight 3: Late 1990s - Early 2000s (3 Notes)

With Agnello Cacio e Uova & Scarola (Lamb with Cheese, Eggs and Escarole)

  • 1998 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 93 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Ripe juicy red and black fruit. Long but tight. Hard to judge, but in light of the above, I would bet on a very long future.

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  • 2000 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 94 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Gorgeous slightly medicinal red plum nose. Licorice and black fruit. Very young and tannic, but still easy to appreciate its potential. 94-95 points.

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  • 2002 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 92 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    So young! Ripe and juicy and very tasty, but so young it is hard to judge. The cork has the date 2012 on it, which we assume means that it was just bottled. Sure doesn't seem a decade old.

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Flight 5 - Flight 4: Later 2000s and an Aldo Conterno (3 Notes)

With Pecorino Cheeses from Abruzzo.

  • 2003 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Young, rich and tannic, but it is also a touch fizzy. An odd wine or a natural wine at an odd state. Not rated.

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  • 2007 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 93 Points

    Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

    Very young. Very hard to judge. Seems to have lots of fruit and saddle leather. Needs 20 years. Buy on faith if you are young and love these wines.

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  • 1988 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia Flawed

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Dried cherry nose. Dried out tart cherry in the mouth. Not much pleasure. This wine should still show well, but not this bottle. Maybe it was cooked. Not a great tribute to the recently departed Aldo, but we all have our memories of his many great wines.

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Closing

Dessert: Almond cake.

Summary

I suspect these wines may not be for everyone, but if you love traditionally made big reds of character like Paolo Bea Sagrantino, Vallana Spanna, or G. Rinaldi Barolo, you will probably love these. I loved them and wish I had a lot more of them in my cellar.

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