Gran Sasso – Pecorino – Terre di Chieti IGT – 2005

Pecorino is not here a cheese, but a white grape variety purported to be shaped like a sheep’s head (hence the name) produced in ever-decreasing quantities in the Marche and, in this case, Abruzzo, in the Terre di Chieti IGT.

Amber coloured, this is bone dry with a pithy orange peel note and a slightly oxidised character. We’d thought we were getting an entry-level wine, but it turns out this was the good stuff at a bargain rate. A lot of drinkers would say this was past it, but I love these wines that show the onset of age.