Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I suppose after so many important vintages it is only natural that Mother Nature takes a break. Terra di Lavoro is usually a huge wine in its youth, but not so in 2009. This is one of the most open, approachable young Terra di Lavoros I have ever tasted. The wine shows good intensity in its dark fruit, with layers of ash, smoke, crushed flowers and minerals that develop in the glass. The 2009 is a pretty, accessible Terra di Lavoro that will make a great introduction for readers who are new to the wine and don't want to wait for some of the more important vintages to come around. Terra di Lavoro is 80% Aglianico and 20% Piedirosso. The 2009 spent 14 months in French oak barrels, 70% new. Readers who want to see how some of the older vintages are developing may want to take a look at notes from my vertical tasting last year, published in Issue 190. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029.
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Wine Spectator
This compact, smoky red features a core of tightly wound raspberry, blackberry and cherry skin notes. Full-bodied, yet fresh, with silky tannins and a firm, smoky minerality driving the fine finish. Aglianico and Piedirosso. Best from 2013 through 2023. 2,700 cases made.
The family-owned estate that is Galardi is unlike any other. Established in 1991, they produce just one wine, with near perfection, and are located in an ideal location with volcanic, sloping soils in the northwestern part of the Campania region of Italy. The influence of the Mediterranean Ocean’s breezes combined with the unique soil composition make the native grape varieties of Aglianico and Piedirosso a nearly instinctual process. Although the soils create unique flavors in the wine, they make for extremely low yields and only a couple thousand bottles of Galardi’s flagship, Terra di Lavoro, are bottled annually making the quality and price skyrocket.
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.
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.