Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 1983
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The Land
Abruzzo built its reputation on volume, which makes Torano Nuovo an unlikely address for one of Italy's most age-worthy reds. The village sits in the province of Teramo, in the northern reach of the region between the Gran Sasso massif and the Adriatic: close enough to the sea for maritime airflow, close enough to the mountains for genuinely cold nights. The soil profile is specific and unusual. Roughly 40 centimeters of clay sit directly on solid limestone, which forces roots down and keeps water moving. Vines are trained on the traditional pergola abruzzese, whose broad canopy shades the fruit and slows sugar accumulation in a hot region. Limestone underneath, shade above: that is why Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from this address measures its life in decades rather than years.
The Wine
100% Montepulciano. Hand-harvested, hand-destemmed, fermented with native yeast, then aged 18 to 24 months in glass-lined cement. No oak touches this wine at any stage, by design. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with minimal sulfur, then held in the estate cellar for decades. Bottles at twenty years and older are opened and decanted by hand into fresh glass and re-corked before release, with the year of decanting recorded on a strip at the neck. The 1983 growing season ran very warm; the resulting depth of color and tannin convinced Emidio Pepe to hold back a large share of the vintage for extended aging. Four decades on, the wine shows dried black cherry, licorice, tobacco leaf, leather, and wild herbs, with resolved tannin and acidity still driving the finish.
The People
Emidio Pepe took over the family vineyards in 1964, continuing work his father and grandfather had done since the end of the 19th century, and he never changed course. His daughters Daniela and Sofia have run the estate since 1997, and granddaughter Chiara de Iulis Pepe now represents the fifth generation. Farming is biodynamic. Cellar work is deliberately pre-industrial: reds destemmed by hand, whites foot-trodden in wooden tubs to keep fruit away from iron presses, spontaneous fermentation throughout, and an extensive library of old vintages held back rather than sold on release. Few estates anywhere have made a more complete case that Montepulciano is a serious grape.
Food Pairing
A wine this old wants simple, savory cooking rather than competition. Slow-braised lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic, arrosticini (skewered lamb over coals, the Abruzzese standard), tagliatelle with a long-cooked beef and pork ragu, or aged pecorino with chestnut honey. The tannins have folded into the structure, so acidity does the cutting, lifting fat and roasted meat rather than fighting them. Open it an hour ahead, use large glasses, and let the table slow down around it.
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Central Italy, excluding Tuscany, encompasses the varied regions of Lazio, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo, and Emilia-Romagna, each contributing distinct expressions to the country’s wine landscape. The Apennine Mountains run through much of the area, creating dramatic elevation shifts that moderate the warm Mediterranean climate and preserve freshness in the wines. Verdicchio from Marche and Trebbiano from Abruzzo are among the standout white wines, while red wines from Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Sagrantino show depth and regional character. Volcanic soils near Rome, limestone in Marche, and clay-rich hills in Umbria all contribute to a diverse range of terroirs. These regions blend ancient viticultural heritage with a growing wave of quality-focused producers.
