Bove Safari Pecorino 2025
£12.45
The wine
A lively wine with vibrant aromas of citrus, apple and tropical fruit. Dry, refreshing and deliciously balanced, with a creamy texture and a lifted citrus fruit finish. Pecorino is Abruzzo at its most characterful.
Pecorino had all but disappeared by the 1980s, reduced to a few rows in the hills of Abruzzo and the Marche, before growers realised its quality: low-yielding, structured and herbal, with enough body to age. The name comes from pecora, sheep, supposedly because flocks grazing the hills were fond of the grapes.
The producer
Bove farm in Abruzzo, on the Adriatic side of central Italy where the Apennines fall steeply towards the sea. The estate works Montepulciano and Pecorino, the region's two defining grapes.
Abruzzo is unusual in Italy for how much of it is protected: roughly a third of the region lies within national parks, and the mountains behind the vineyards hold snow well into spring. That proximity of high peaks to warm coast gives strong day-to-night temperature swings, which is what keeps Montepulciano fresh in a climate that could easily make it heavy.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is not to be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which is Sangiovese from a Tuscan town. The grape gives deep colour, soft tannin and generous dark fruit, and it is one of the most reliable value reds in Italy. Pecorino, the white, had almost disappeared by the 1980s before growers recognised its quality.
