Winemaker Notes
Aglianico is an ancient Roman varietal that produces red wines of remarkable structure and great elegance. On the nose the Aglianico has aromas of red fruits, with notes of chocolate, cassis and coffee. It is a full-bodied wine, with firm tannins and fresh acidity.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An excellent aglianico full of charm. Lots of blackberries, dark cherries and a hint of iodine on the nose. Rich yet fresh and full-bodied, with fine-grained, dusty tannins and a lengthy finish. A combination of richness, complexity, structure and freshness.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Aglianico del Maule is the most dark-fruited, graphite-tinged and tenacious bottling in Gillmore's range of Italian-variety interpretations. On the palate, it is rich, supple and slow moving, concluding with a focused, grippy, stony and aromatic finish that carries a lingering earthy quality while remaining pure and transparent.
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.
Maule is the Central Valley’s most southern and coolest zone, reaching a southern latitude of 35°S, yet it is still warmer and drier than Bío-Bío to its south. The Maule Valley enjoys success with a unique set of grapes.
It lays claim to the local variety, Pais (synonymous with Tinta Pais, which is actually Tempranillo), which has dominated much of the region’s area under vine until the recent past. Now many growers, not confined by the tradition and regulations of the Old World, also successfully grow Cabernet Sauvignon.
While Maule’s total area under vine remains relatively static, its old Carignan vineyards are undergoing a great revival. The VIGNO (Vignadores del Carignan Vintners) group, an association in charge of promoting this long-forgotten variety, is getting fantastic results from the old vines in its dry-farmed coastal zones.
The Maule includes the subregions of Talca, San Clemente, San Javier, Parral, Linares and Cauquenes.