Winemaker Notes
A study in extremes, this year’s Luna Matta Aglianico is another blockbuster-styled westside Paso red. We’ve slightly shifted our winemaking technique (very delicate extraction, extended maceration, etc.) over the years to tame the beast inside this wine, yet it remains every bit the highlight of intensity in our lineup. The 2016 version follows in the exotic and intense steps of its predecessors. It starts with nose of iron, roses, peppercorn, and sandalwood. The palate is dense with dark fruit - blackberry, cinnamon, oregano and leather. Rich, chewy, and stacked on the palate with loads of tannin and acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Aglianico is more supple and charming than the 2015, offering lots of dried cherry and leafy herb aromas, medium body, terrific overall balanced, and a clean, lengthy finish. You don’t see the variety in California often, but this is a good one that’s well worth your time and money.
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.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.