Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC Riserva Vecchie Viti Emidio Pepe 2002

Emidio Pepe is one of the towering figures of Italian wine. Founded in 1964 in Torano Nuovo, in northern Abruzzo, this family estate demonstrated long before anyone else the remarkable ageing potential and nobility of Montepulciano and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, at a time when the region was largely defined by industrial-scale production. Emidio Pepe, who passed away in July 2026 at the age of 94, leaves behind a remarkable legacy: an archive cellar housing almost 350,000 bottles, and a vision now carried forward by his daughter Sofia and his granddaughter Chiara De Iulis Pepe, the estate’s winemaker, who oversees production today with the same uncompromising standards. The estate extends across 27 hectares, including 17 hectares of vines, farmed according to certified biodynamic principles since 2006. It forms part of a thriving mixed-farming ecosystem where ancient cereals, olive trees and fruit trees coexist alongside parcels of Montepulciano, Trebbiano and Pecorino. In the cellar, almost every step of the winemaking process is carried out by hand or foot: manual harvesting, hand destemming, foot treading and spontaneous fermentations in concrete vats, with neither fining nor filtration. Bottling is determined solely by the wine’s natural evolution, sometimes several years after the harvest. That patience has become the estate’s signature, and one of the foundations of its greatness. The wines offer a striking expression of the region’s remarkable terroir, combining a strong sense of place with a racy, elegant style.