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“Time has arrived to be releasing the Casa Pepe / Branella single vineyard vinification. 2020 was the first vintage on this journey and has continued since. The Old Vines Selection is now split in the parcellaire vinification of our two oldest plots.'
Chiara Pepe - 5th Generation
Among the rarest and highly allocated red wines of Italy, these impeccably aged Montepulciano d’Abruzzo selections from Emidio Pepe are meticulously crafted to offer the purest and most complex expression of the Montepulciano grape, all one of a kind, limited releases offering Italian wine lovers a unique opportunity to be “wowed” by Pepe’s legendary wines and a must for serious collectors to acquire without hesitation.
Located on a hilltop with stunning views of Abruzzo’s rolling countryside, the cellars of Emidio Pepe are filled with more than 350,000 bottles that have been reserved from recent vintages for extended cellaring and a library of back vintages that are released in small quantities each year, “essentially time capsules of the grape” according to Vinous critic Eric Guido, all pristinely aged to develop extraordinary complexity. Sourced from around three hectares of biodynamically farmed vineyards in Teramo in northern Abruzzo, the grapes for the Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne come from old vines around 50 years of age planted in clay and limestone soils, with temperatures moderated by the Apennine mountains to the north and nearby Adriatic Sea. Harvesting and crushing the grapes by hand, the old vine Montepulciano is fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts and aged completely without oak, spending 24 months in glass-lined cement tanks before extended cellar aging in bottle of over five years, each library bottle decanted by hand into a new bottle and sealed with a new cork bearing the date of decanting upon its release. The harmonious 95 pt. 2007 Vecchie Vigne is “a dark and penetrating red wine” that “confirms the hype that surrounds Emidio Pepe” according to the Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner. The powerfully aromatic 94 pt. 2003 Vecchie Vigne is a “dark, imposing Montepulciano” that “comes together beautifully in the glass” according to Antonio Galloni, while the muscular 95 pt. 2001 Vecchie Vigne is “rich and dense” with a decades’ long aging potential, a library selection that was decanted and recorked. Also from the library, the stunning 97 pt. 2000 Vecchie Vigne is described as a “big, powerful wine packed with dark fruit” by Galloni.
Celebrating over 50 years as Abruzzo’s most iconic winery and a favorite of wine critics and insiders alike, these selections of Emidio Pepe’s legendary Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne are the region’s most coveted and longest-lived wines, this small release certain to sell out quickly and be savored by a fortunate few. | 
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