2002 was quite a cold vintage in Teramo; the resulting wine was so austere in its youth that the Pepe family decided not to release it at first. Thanks to their massive library program, it's recently become available. Immediatly intrigtuing, with a cool-toned mix of dried strawberries, cinnamon and dusty rose, it washes across the palate with ease, lifted and pure in feel, with pretty red berries and a subtle, flinty minerality. Fruit concentration lingers, along with gentle tannins and a pleasant burst of inner sweetness, finishing with cheek-puckering tension. There’s a lightness of being here that may not promise a long life (not that 22 years is anything to sneeze at...), but is very pleasurable today.