Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Aglianico del Vulture Gudarra is an explosive wine imbued with dark fruit, smoke, ash and tobacco. Layers of mint and cured meats develop on the mid-palate, adding further complexity and nuance. All of the elements build with notable intensity towards the intense, virile finish. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022.
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Wine Spectator
Monolithic, with plenty of vibrant flavors of blackberry, cassis and fig paste in reserve. Hints of mesquite and olive paste round out the long, minerally finish. Needs time to fully integrate and shed some of the mouthcoating tannins. Best from 2013 through 2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
This well integrated Aglianico del Vulture opens with ripe notes of black fruit and dried currants backed by softer aromas of leather and crushed clove or cinnamon. It’s a massively intense and dense wine with rock-solid tannins that need to be paired with succulent steak.
Italian Red Wine
While picturesque hillsides, endless coastlines and a favorable climate serve to unify the grape-growing culture of this country. The apparent never-ending world of indigenous grape varieties gives Italy an unexampled charm and allure for its red wines. From the steep inclines of the Alps to the sprawling, warm, coastal plains of the south, red grape varieties thrive throughout.
The kings of Italy, wines like Barolo and Barbaresco (made of Nebbiolo), and Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino (made of Sangiovese), as well as Amarone (mostly Corvina), play center stage for the most lauded, collected and cellar-worthy reds. Less popular but entirely deserving of as much praise are the wines made from Aglianico, Sagrantino and Nerello Mascalese.
For those accustomed to drinking New World reds, the south is the place to start. Grapes like Negroamaro or Primitvo from Puglia and Nero d’Avola from Sicily make soft, ammicable, full-bodied, fruit-dominant wines. Curious palates should be on the lookout for Cannonau (Grenache), Lagrein, Teroldego, Ruché, Freisa, Cesanese, Schiopettino, Rossese and Gaglioppo to name a few.