Concrete Pecorino De Fermo 2022

Concrete Pecorino De Fermo, biodynamic wine from tiny estate in Abruzzo, lightish wine, slightly sour, nutty finish, beautiful acidity and balance, gorgeous summer drinking.  De Fermo make outstanding natural wines just outside the famous wine making town of Loreto Aprutino in Abruzzo.  They have two levels of Pecorino and both are superb.  The Don Carlino is richer and for longer ageing.  Concrete on the other hand is the perfect early drinking summer wine.

They produce Pecorino all over southern Italy.  According to ampelographers, Pecorino originated as a wild grapevine growing in the Sibillini Mountains, in the Marche before being domesticated for wine production.  Despite the name, there is no connection to Pecorino Cheese, although the two coincidentally can have a nutty flavour.  Both cheese and wine probably did both take their names from the word Pecora, meaning sheep.

Concrete is one of the finest example of easy drinking Pecorino you will find.  The grape can be cheap and a bit nasty, lacking in body and character.  Here low yields, natural farming and class wine making produce a balanced, glass of healthy white wine, oozing charm, fruit, freshness and drinkability.  Goes with most things, lighter pastas, light goats cheeses, simple fish, all superb with this wine.

Stefano Papetti Ceroni’s interest in wine was obvious from the age of 12, when he started reading wine reviews in his mother’s cooking magazines.

By age 18, he was buying every bottle he could. The route to a career in wine, though, was long. Both he and his wife, Eloisa De Fermo, had successful law careers in Bologna when they were married in 2005. When Stefano first visited the De Fermo family vineyards in 2007, Stefano was smitten. He later stumbled upon a long-abandoned winery, dating back to 1785, buried under the family house. This was a sign too powerful to ignore - Stefano began restoring the winery and started to make wine. He and Eloisa took over the estate in 2009 and immediately began converting it to biodynamics for which they are now certified.The farm is located in Loreto Aprutino (Abruzzo), halfway between the Adriatic sea (20km) and the southernmost European glacier (20km). In the vineyard, which covers 17 hectares at 270-320 meters of altitude, biodynamic principles are applied since 2009. They do not add or use selected yeasts and don’t control fermentation temperatures. They do not fine and/or filter wines.The vineyards are predominantly planted with the typical grapes of the region, Montepulciano and Pecorino, but also include nearly 3 acres of Chardonnay imported from France and planted in 1926 by Eloisa's Burgundy-loving great uncle.Stefano and Eloisa see their vineyard and wine production as parts of a greater whole, with their vines growing alongside olives, cereals and legumes, and the couple managing the entire farm holistically.Steafnos says; 'the goal is to have wines which have character, which are individual, which are genuine.'We would vote for that!