Tiberio, 'Archivio' Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2020

2019 - 95 Vinous
The 2019 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Archivio opens slowly in the glass, darkly intense and youthfully coiled. Swirling brings an aromatic blend of foreign spice, balsam herbs, dried black cherries and pine tree notes. With its silky textures, this seduces, more lifted and poised than I'd imagined. A core of tart raspberry fruit stains the palate as a web of fine-grained tannins forms toward the close. While structured and dramatically long, the Archivio maintains a lovely harmony, as a bitter tinge of savory spice mingles with violet inner florals. Interestingly, the textural performance between the Archivio and Colle Vota seems to have traded places in 2019, as this is the more elegant and lifted of the two. It's an atypical Archivio that should not be missed.

Varietal: 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Altitude: 350 meters a.s.l. – 1200 feet a.s.l.
Soil: Limestone, clay subsoil with iron oxides
Vine Age: 65+ years
Fermentation: Indigenous yeasts, in stainless steel tank with macerations, total time averages 40 days (Barolo are usually about 60 days).
Aging: Aged 12 months in 30% barrique, 70% stainless steel vessels. Aged an additional 12 months in bottle
The name of this wine apparently comes from the fact that all of the Montepulciano they have planted or replanted in their other vineyards, comes from a massale selection of the vines that make up the single vineyard for this wine. Winery: The Archivio is a “single vineyard” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo coming from a specific 1.2 hectare portion of our historical 2.5 hectare vineyard, planted to 65 years old Montepulciano vines. It is from this vineyard that over the years we identified, selected and then propagated our massal selections of Montepulciano vines with which we have planted all our Montepulciano vineyards.