Wine of the Week 3/17/2018
The Story
Like most of my wines of the week this one has a cool story behind it.
If you're familiar at all with trebbiano, you're almost certainly thinking of trebbiano Toscano, which is a high yielding grape that often produces mundane wines. But not all trebbianos are created equally. 350 meters above the town of Cugnoli in Abruzzo, Riccardo Tiberio found a very old plot of trebbiano d'Abruzzese, which, despite it's name, is neither the same grape as trebbiano Toscano, nor is it common in Abruzzo.
In the year 2000 Riccardo purchased a small eight hectare plot of 60 year old trebbiano d'Abruzzo and carefully nurtured and replanted it. At the same time he expanded the site and plantings of other indigenous varieties until he had a 31 hectare estate.
Today, the growing and wine making are handled by his children Cristiana and Antonio.
Stay tuned for this week's episode of The Honest Pour, featuring Cristiana Tiberio. an episode which I'm super late in releasing. It was recorded in July. Cristiana will be in Chicago on March 22, 2018, for a special wine dinner at the Michelin starred Band of Bohemia. For more information check out this link.
https://www.facebook.com/events/373803399695055/
The Wine
2016 Tiberio Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Cristiana Tibberio tells me " I don't just want to make good wines, That's not good enough. I want to make wines with identity." And this wine has a unique, special identity.
Tasting Notes
Yellow with tinges of green in color. Aromas of stone fruit, flowers, fennel and a hint of saline minerality end with a bit of fresh herbal notes. Flavors of green apple, pear, beeswax are balanced by elegant minerality and crisp, mouthwatering acidity. A lovely, unique wine.
Suggested Retail Price: $20
Final Notes
While this may not be the easiest wine to find it is well worth the effort.