Reds that see no oak?

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by Lee Short:
Desvignes? As in Louis-Claude?

Who'd have thunk? But the LDM website confirms it. Sweet!

Possibly there is a podcast interview out there in the world that discusses the topic with Louis-Benoit Desvignes.

 

[Todd Abrams]

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

This made me thirsty. In terms of vintages, what do the last few look like in Montepulciano or at Tiberio specifically? I don’t know the Tiberio wines so I’d be looking to start with cooler vintage character, if possible, in pure learning mode although they are very inexpensive so a vertical of recent vintages is possible too. (I can get the ‘16 Montepulciano in NYC, and am wondering about the Cerasuolo as well.)

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

Yet the 2016 Tiberio Montepulciano is 14% ABV.

 

[Levi Dalton]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

This made me thirsty. In terms of vintages, what do the last few look like in Montepulciano or at Tiberio specifically? I don’t know the Tiberio wines so I’d be looking to start with cooler vintage character, if possible, in pure learning mode although they are very inexpensive so a vertical of recent vintages is possible too. (I can get the ‘16 Montepulciano in NYC, and am wondering about the Cerasuolo as well.)

2017 was very hot, and presented challenges for many growers in the Abruzzo for that reason.

She is in a cooler, mountainous area of Abruzzo, so in general the conditions there should be cooler than in some other parts of Abruzzo.

 

[Todd Abrams]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

This made me thirsty. In terms of vintages, what do the last few look like in Montepulciano or at Tiberio specifically? I don’t know the Tiberio wines so I’d be looking to start with cooler vintage character, if possible, in pure learning mode although they are very inexpensive so a vertical of recent vintages is possible too. (I can get the ‘16 Montepulciano in NYC, and am wondering about the Cerasuolo as well.)

I've been drinking the Montepulciano since the 2012 vintage (she took over winemaking in 2011). The standout for me up to this point is the 2013 but I think the 2016 is a good introduction. Here are Cristiana's own notes on the wine:

2016 Montepulciano

Cool and quite rainy,

We harvested at the end of October.

It’ a super refined and elegant Montepulciano.

I love the vibrancy of the little red fruits and the flavours of blood orange and little violet.

The texture is super refined and the tannins super silky, because of the perfect ripening level of the fruit in the vineyard.

The Cerasuolo is solid every vintage. It does reward a little patience. I would encourage you to try all of her wines if they are available, especially the Pecorino.

As Levi mentioned, she's in a cooler zone of Abruzzo. Here's a pic of one of her vineyards that I took during a visit a few years ago. My family and I took a day trip from western Rome to have lunch with Cristiana near the winery at Ristorante la Banderia. That's the snow-capped Majella in the distance. It was late May, I believe.

 

[Todd Abrams]

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

Yet the 2016 Tiberio Montepulciano is 14% ABV.

I'm not sure what your point is here. Does a label ABV percentage nullify a drinking experience?

 

[Levi Dalton]

Todd, thanks for sharing the picture.

 

[mark e]

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by mark e:

originally posted by Todd Abrams:

originally posted by Levi Dalton:

Another producer in Abruzzo that does not use any oak is Tiberio. Tiberio only uses steel.

Presently drinking her 2016 Montepulciano. It’s sappy, fresh, with luscious fruit like a four-berry pie and silky tannins to balance. Tremendous value.

Yet the 2016 Tiberio Montepulciano is 14% ABV.

I'm not sure what your point is here. Does a label ABV percentage nullify a drinking experience?

Not in the least. Perhaps there is a difference (as frequently happens) in the way people use descriptors. I would only use fresh to describe wines of higher acidity and slightly lower alcohol. Clearly, it means something different to you. Sappy, too, which sometimes indicates slight herbaceousness, might fool me into thinking the wine was a bit different, as well. My point is that - to me - the description might be somewhat misleading.

 

[Levi Dalton]

I have had a few Montepulciano from Tiberio and they have seemed fresh to me. That is a descriptor I would use. Would I say they were lean? No. But fresh? Sure. I can see Montepulciano fruit seeming sappy, as well. Sometimes I get that sensation with Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo in particular.