Emidio Pepe

Emidio Pepe

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Country of Origin: Italy
Location: Teramo, Abruzzo
People: Pepe Family, Owners & Winemakers
Viticulture: Certified Biodynamic

Items

Emidio Pepe 2019 Pecorino, Colli Aprutini IGT Login AG 93 In Stock
Emidio Pepe 2020 Pecorino, Colli Aprutini IGT Login —
Emidio Pepe 2007 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC Login WA 88 AG 92 In Stock
Emidio Pepe 2017 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC Login DEC 94 AG 94 In Stock
Emidio Pepe 2018 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC Login —
Emidio Pepe 2003 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Login WA 94 WE 87 AG 92 In Stock
Emidio Pepe 2010 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Login WS 93 AG 95+ AG 97
Emidio Pepe 2015 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Login —

History: Emidio Pepe has been passed down from father to son for four generations. In 1899, the founder of the family, Emidio Pepe was already well known for his excellent wine, which was born with fresh grapes that can be found on the Toran hillsides; and on 1944, his son Giuseppe was alreading selling wine. In 1964 Emidio Pepe, grandson of the founder of the firm, looking ahead, understood the great qualities of the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and begun selling it in bottles as if it was "Black Gold."

Today his daughters Daniela and Sofia Pepe continue with a great passion in producing famous wines, respecting all the methods their fathers used 40 years before. In the last few years Daniela and Sofia, with the typical tenacity of the Pepe Family and the fearlessness of their youth and spirit, have enlarged the properties and elevated the production for the wine cellar, always under the vigilant protection of their father Emidio Pepe.

Location: The family owns 15 hectares of vineyards, cultivated by Emidio with biodynamic methods, in Torano Nuovo in the province of Teramo. The winery is sandwiched between the Adriatic Sea and Apennine mountain range which makes for ideal and very interesting climatic conditions for growing Montepulciano and Trebbiano grapes. The evening cooling effect offered by the mountain and sea air during the hot summers helps extend the ripening period adding to complexity and quality of the wines. The soils in that area are full of minerals and some lime which produces wines that have lively acidity and mineral notes. Acidity is crucial for the longevity of a wine and many of Pepe’s wines can age for years despite the fact that the wines are made organically and have been for decades.

Production: The wines are made in a super traditional style. It is rare to find such a raw expression in today's age of industrialization. Harvest, crushing and destemming is done by hand. No additives or sulfites are used, and wines undergo indigenous yeast fermentation. The family ages their wine in an air-conditioned underground wine cellar. They are the only wine cellar that can offer a vertical from 1964. All the bottles are hand-decanted before entering the market, carefully controlled and selected in a small laboratory where Rosa Pepe pours the wine from one bottle to another, to eliminate the natural sediments that occur at the bottom of the bottle. At the end the bottles are hand-labeled and go for sale. And this is why the Pepe Family guarantee all the bottles for quality, genuineness and long life.

From Wine Advocate 2/2013
"Emidio Pepe is one of the benchmark producers in Italy. His Trebbianos and Montepulcianos are loaded with personality and character. The wines also have proven to age exceptionally well."

YouTube Links
Emidio Pepe Winery in Italy | What is Organic

Media Links
I'll Drink to That!: Episode 182: Chiara De Lulis Pepe
Wine Terroirs: Emidio Pepe
Avvinare: Emidio Pepe, An Iconic Winemaker in Abruzzo
Tar and Roses: The Wines of Emidio Pepe 1964-2001

Social Media
Emidio Pepe Facebook

Reviews

  • Emidio Pepe 2003 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 94 (6/1/2010)
    Pepe’s 2003 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a bomb. Tar, leather, scorched earth and black fruit emerge from this dark, imposing Montepulciano. The wine comes together beautifully in the glass, as the aromas and flavors gain breadth and dimension. Despite the rich style, there is nothing excessive or over-ripe here, just exceptional balance of ripe fruit as captured by a traditional approach to vinification. A final blast of tar informs the long finish. Pepe fans will flip over the 2003, but readers who prefer subtlety over power will want to cellar this for a few years to allow for some of the baby fat to melt away.
  • Emidio Pepe 2007 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC
    The Wine Advocate
    Rating: 88 (2/1/2013)
    Pepe’s 2007 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo is especially rich and large-scaled in this vintage. Honey, roasted nuts, spices and licorice flow from the glass. This is a distinctly powerful, intense Trebbiano. In my view, the 2007 is too forward to age gracefully, but only time will tell for sure. Personally, I wouldn’t push it. The Pepe Trebbiano is as old-school as it gets. The grapes are crushed by foot and fermented in steel, while the wine is aged in cement vats. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2017.
  • Emidio Pepe 2003 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Wine Enthusiast
    Rating: 87 (7/1/2013)
    Emidio Pepe is an iconic leader of the organic and natural wine movement in Italy. This meaty Montepulciano d'Abruzzo shows some aromas of rubber and Band-Aid followed by polished cherry fruit. A soft and velvety mouthfeel is followed by cured meat and bresaola.
  • Emidio Pepe 2010 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC
    The Wine Spectator
    Rating: 93 (10/15/2017)
    Appealing flavors of baked raspberry, orange zest, dried thyme and coffee liqueur ripple across the palate in this elegant, medium-to full-bodied red, which is bright and harmonious, with creamy tannins and a subtle, lingering finish of tar and loamy earth notes. Drink now through 2030.
  • Emidio Pepe 2015 Pecorino, Colli Aprutini IGT
    Decanter
    Rating: 92 (1/1/2018)
    Natural winemaking at its best. This evolves beautifully in the glass, revealing bruised apple, honey and Champagne-like aromas. Then come contrasting green herb and candied lemon peel flavors; round, soft and creamy texture with a long, salty finish. Flows beautifully across the palate.
  • Emidio Pepe 2010 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Vinous
    Rating: 95+ (6/1/2017)
    Precise, spicy aromas of ripe red berries, dark plum and violet accented by cumin and caraway seed. At once densely packed and broad but juicy and refined too, boasting terrific acid-fruit-tannin balance and penetrating red cherry, underbrush and sweet spice flavors. This lovely wine is suave and fine-grained and finishes very long. It would be prudent to decant this at least two-three hours ahead; one bottle I had was initially marred by almost unacceptable levels of funkiness, another was instead brilliantly pure and clean, so allowing this wine to breathe a little prior to serving is not a bad idea.
  • Emidio Pepe 2017 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Decanter
    Rating: 94 (5/10/2022)
    Rich and complex confit lemons, white spices, generous salinity and plenty of white flowers accompanied by an almost balsamic character. Dry and elegant with plenty of citrus notes, the palate has hints of dried mushrooms and a stony minerality on the finish.
  • Emidio Pepe 2015 Pecorino, Colli Aprutini IGT
    Vinous
    Rating: 92 (5/15/2017)
    Bright, dark golden yellow. Aromatic herbs, peach, and ripe yellow apple have a noteworthy saline twist on the enticing, deep nose. Then saline in the mouth, with very good freshness providing the broad, rich, ripe flavors of oily spices and mint with noteworthy clarity and cut. Finishes with strong savory lift, outstanding length and a really chewy quality, the latter a very typical characteristic of all Emidio Pepe white wines. This is the best ever Pecorino, by far, from this estate.
  • Emidio Pepe 2010 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Vinous
    Rating: 97 (10/20/2022)
    The 2010 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne is a total showstopper with its deep, dark, purple, red color. The intense bouquet blends fresh plums with black raspberries, sweet peppery curry, tobacco, leather and balsamic spice. It flows across the palate in silken waves, communicating elegance at the start. Within moments, a tart burst of cranberry and sour cherries combines with nervous acidity to create a juicy impression with riveting tension. The 2010 is rich and potent; it leaves a staining of concentration while remaining incredibly fresh. The balanced bite of tannin that remains creates a classically dry finale. A minute goes by, and dried citrus rinds, hints of coffee grinds and black licorice are still present. This is easily the most moving experience that I've ever had with an Emidio Pepe Montepulciano. The 2010 is in a gorgeous place today and has a very bright future.
  • Emidio Pepe 2003 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Vinous
    Rating: 92 (10/20/2022)
    A smoky note of cracked ashen stone gives way to a cedar spice box full of dried berries, citrus peels, cloves, cinnamon and roses as the sweetly spiced bouquet of the 2003 Montepulciano d'Abruzo Vecchie Vigne bursts from the glass. There's an unexpected density and pliancy here, coming across as soft-natured and fully mature, with notes of ripe plum and tobacco settling upon the senses. The 2003 finishes with a pleasant grip, the result of residual acids more than tannin, while cherry pits and even sour melon notes slowly fade. While I don't see the 2003 maturing in a positive direction from here, there's so much pleasure to be found today, and there's no rush to finish the bottles in your cellar.
  • Emidio Pepe 2019 Pecorino, Colli Aprutini IGT
    Vinous
    Rating: 93 (10/6/2022)
    There's a woodsy, herbal nature to the bouquet of the 2019 Pecorino that I find wildly attractive; musky dried apricots and hints of confectionery spice provide lovely contrast. Its soft textures soothe as a reverberation of tension mounts through a mix of zesty acids, green citrus and a twang of sour melon. The 2019 leaves a primary concentration upon the palate, a staining of lime and a caking of saline intensity, while finishing with persistence. This is the best vintage of Emidio Pepe's Pecorino that I've yet tasted. The vineyard was planted between 2006 and 2007 in white clay soils with a northern exposure. It took the family some time to fully understand the variety, how to farm it and shape it in the winery; yet the 2019 clearly shows that its potential has been realized.
  • Emidio Pepe 2017 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Vinous
    Rating: 94 (10/6/2022)
    A sweetly seductive mix of baked apples, peaches and candied lemon combines with hints of chamomile as the 2017 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne comes to life in the glass. This is a total pleasure on the palate: silky and round with ripe orchard fruits and a staining of minerality that evolves toward the close. It finishes spicy yet fresh with a reverberation of residual acids and hints of ginger under an air of minty herbs. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off of this warm vintage beauty.
  • Emidio Pepe 2007 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC
    Vinous
    Rating: 92 (10/6/2022)
    There's no telling the age of the 2007 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Vecchie Vigne from its color alone, boasting a vibrant golden hue. It bursts from the glass with a potent mix of lemon oils, pungent florals, rosemary and confectionery tangerine. For all of its aromatic intensity, it's incredibly savory on the palate, mineral and flinty in style, almost like liquid stone, yet has a core of vivid pear that balances the expression out perfectly. The 2007 tapers off a bit shorter than anticipated while leaving a saline tension that lingers long. This was a warm vintage; however, well-timed rains during July helped keep the fruit healthy and ripen at an even pace.