Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The estate's 2008 Aglianico del Molise Contado is another full-bodied red. This shows much of the wildness of Aglianico in its black fruit, game, leather and earthiness. There is dark, mysterious quality to the Contado I find particularly appealing.
Making its home in the mountainous southern Italy, Aglianico is a bold red variety that is late to ripen and often spends until November on the vine. It thrives in Campania as the exclusive variety in the age-worthy red wine called Taurasi. Aglianico also has great success in the volcanic soils of Basilicata where it makes the robust, Aglianico del Vulture. Somm Secret—The name “Aglianico” bears striking resemblance to Ellenico, the Italian word for "Greek," but no evidence shows it has Greek ancestry. However, it first appeared in Italy around an ancient Greek colony located in present-day Avellino, Campania.
This mountainous region south of Abruzzo comes in second after Valle d’Aosta as Italy’s smallest and least populated region. Wine production is largely reserved for cooperatives with the main varieties as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. Plantings of grape varieties from its neighboring region of Campania—whites Fiano and Greco di tufo and the red, Aglianico—have increased recently.