Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is fine greco. Salty, almond flecked, quinine bitter and savory, while segueing subtly into the stone fruit realm of appeal without any sense of excess. A quiver of mineral tension and shotgun acidity finds a nervous confluence with a stiff upper lip of pucker. Convincing. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2022 Greco di Tufo Cutizzi opens with an array of sweet white flowers, chamomile and crushed apples. It balances ripe orchard fruits and green melon with saline-mineral tones and tantalizing acidity. The 2022 finishes with salty tension and nectarine notes.
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Wine Spectator
Elegant, this fresh and well-knit white shows mouthwatering acidity and a chalky base note, framing flavors of ripe mirabelle plum and nectarine, blanched almond, anise hyssop and preserved lemon.
A late-ripening, medium-bodied variety from Campania, Greco delivers a relatively high acidity and flaunts an invigorating mineral character alongside fresh citrus, stone fruitand herb flavors. Somm Secret—The name Tufo comes from the soft, volcanic rock found all over in the subsoil of the region where Greco thrives.
A winemaking renaissance is underfoot in Campania as more and more small, artisan and family-run wineries redefine their style with vineyard improvements and cellar upgrades. The region boasts a cool Mediterranean climate with extreme coastal, as well as high elevation mountain terroirs. It is cooler than one might expect in Campania; the region usually sees some of the last harvest dates in Italy.
Just south of Mount Vesuvio, the volcanic and sandy soils create aromatic and fresh reds based on Piedirosso and whites, made from Coda di Volpe and Falanghina. Both reds and whites go by the name, Lacryma Christi, meaning the "tears of Christ." South of Mount Vesuvio, along the Amalfi Coast, the white varieties of Falanghina and Biancolella make fresh, flirty, mineral-driven whites, and the red Piedirosso and Sciasinoso vines, which cling to steeply terraced coastlines, make snappy and ripe red wines.
Farther inland, as hills become mountains, the limestone soil of Irpinia supports the whites Fiano di Avellino, Falanghina and Greco di Tufo as well as the most-respected red of the south, Aglianico. Here the best and most age-worthy examples come from Taurasi.
Farther north and inland near the city of Benevento, the Taburno region also produces Aglianico of note—called Aglianico del Taburno—on alluvial soils. While not boasting the same heft as Taurasi, these are also reliable components of any cellar.