2022 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Fonte Canale

There’s good news, and there’s bad news. The good news is that the Tiberio wines have never been better. The constant evolution and better understanding of vines and practices that Cristiana Tiberio and her brother, Antonio, have pursued over the years manifests in a selection of wines that go from strength to strength. Despite the challenges of the growing seasons, the 2023s and 2024s at Tiberio are some of the most unique and thrilling wines I tasted for this report. The Trebbiano Fonte Canale continues to be the crown jewel of the mix, followed closely by the Montepulciano Colle Vota, a wine that could easily be confused for high-elevation Spanish Garnacha or top-shelf Northern Rhône Syrah. The new Pecorino Quarmari rounds out the lineup of Tiberio’s high-end offerings. It is the product of biotype and terroir studies that created a sort of “Super-Pecorino” of the highest quality. The winery continues to release a lineup of affordable varietal wines that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the flagship wines of many other local estates.

Now for the bad news. Like most other wineries in the region, Tiberio suffered greatly in 2023 and 2024, two years with drastically reduced quantities. In Cugnoli, the hilly interior of Abruzzo that Tiberio calls home, 2023 wasn’t as bad as it was the surrounding areas. There was an outbreak of Peronospora due to the incredibly rainy spring, but the following months leading up to harvest allowed the team to pick a reduced yet healthy selection of bunches. The wines are mineral-driven, old-school in feel and, judging by an early peek at the 2023 Fonte Canale, quite possibly the best ever made at the estate. But then came 2024, which combined a frost that halted vine growth with the driest year on record. Canopies were tiny, and bunches seemed almost desiccated. In July 2024, Cristiana Tiberio told me, “I won’t harvest any fruit to make Montepulciano,” so there will be no 2024 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Tiberio across all labels. Tiberio used what little fruit there was to produce the Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo. The 2024 Cerasuolo is a wine to scoop up as quickly as possible. Total production in 2024 was down 40%. To balance market demand and lack of funds due to the small vintages, the 2023 Montepulciano will be released late in the fall of 2025, and pricing on all of Tiberio’s wines will increase. Still, considering the quality of what’s in the bottle, there’s a lot of value in this portfolio.