In the late 1990s, Riccardo Tiberio was export manager for a local winery, a stable job he enjoyed. Then he stumbled upon an old plot of trebbiano abruzzese vines near the hillside town of Cugnoli, 350 meters up and twenty-three miles inland from the Adriatic. The discovery felt like a calling. In 2000 he bought the 8-hectare plot and 31 hectares more, planting each parcel according to its soil with the region's indigenous grapes. The estate is now run by his children: Cristiana, a trained chemist and oenologist who handles the winemaking (her training stints include Jacques Selosse, Nicolas Joly, and Egon Müller), and Antonio, who oversees viticulture. Together they champion the grapes of this terroir, too often made and marketed as simple wines for pairing with pizza, and alongside Valentini and Emidio Pepe, Tiberio has become one of the estates that has pushed collectors to take Abruzzo seriously.
Colle Vota is a single vineyard of 1.6 hectares at 350 meters, planted in 2000 with massal selections taken from the oldest montepulciano vines on the property. Moved to this higher site, with its limestone and marly clay over sandstone bedrock, the vines adapted into something new: bunches and berries far smaller than elsewhere on the estate, with thicker, crunchier skins and a longer road to ripeness. Harvest comes at the end of October, later than for any other montepulciano the family grows. In the cellar the wine is handled as simply as possible: fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel for around 20 days, malolactic and aging in tank, bottled unfined and without filtration, then held in bottle before release. No wood touches it.
The 2022 is a darker, more brooding Colle Vota than the vineyard usually gives. It opens on crushed stone and grilled sage, then blackberry, ground clove, cinnamon, and marzipan, with licorice arriving on the finish. The texture is the giveaway of the site, silken and light on its feet despite real concentration, with acidity that keeps the whole thing lifted. Tannins are firm and still a little edgy, and Eric Guido of Vinous, awarding 95 points, counsels patience. Drink from 2028 through 2040.
