Winemaker Notes
The wine is deep purple in color with smoky, earthy aromas and seductive hints of tobacco and graphite. Notes of ripe black cherries, cassis, tobacco and leather come through on the palate of this big-structured, full-bodied wine.
This iconic wine pairs beautifully with Italian or French pot roasts, filet mignon or aged cuts of beef.
Blend: 80% Aglianico, 20% Piedirosso
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of blackberry, dark-chocolate and sweet-tobacco-leaf character on the nose. Fruit and plenty of licorice to boot. This continues to evolve in the class. Full body, round and velvety tannins and a juicy finish. More approachable than many vintages. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Terra di Lavoro is a seamless and well-integrated wine (made with Aglianico and Piedirosso with the first vintage released in 1994) that always sets the bar high for Campania wines and the volcanic Roccamonfina subzone. This vintage is a little flatter than most, but this should come as no surprise given the challenges of the growing season. The pedigree of the winemaking is evident, nonetheless, with seamless integration and a wide array of dark fruit and toasted aromas that evoke the rugged personality of this unique Terra di Lavoro, or ‘land of labor.’
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.