Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This structured and delicious wine opens with aromas of tilled earth, blue flower and mature black fruit. The savory, juicy palate delivers notes of ripe plum, blackberry, Mediterranean herbs and mineral, all supported by assertive tannins. Drink 2015–2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Aglianico del Vulture Damaschito delivers an extreme level of austerity that is characteristics of the Aglianico grape when cultivated on volcanic soils. This is a very masculine, muscular and brawny expression that flaunts its power in an unabashed manner. Dusty tannins appear on the close and the wine is redolent of dark fruit, pencil shavings, campfire ash, tar and licorice. Happily, these aromas are delivered in a very direct and immediate manner with energy and verve. There is nothing flat or heavy about this nicely aged wine. I did notice a distant touch of oxidation in my samples and am therefore hesitant to assign a very long drinking window. It seems to be evolving quickly.
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.
Inhabiting the arch of Italy’s boot, this southern, mountainous region has a relatively small amount of vineyard area under vine. Basilicata has one DOCG for its prized red grape, Aglianico, Aglianico del Vulture Superior, which is limited to the slopes of an extinct volcano. The best whites are made of Malvasia bianca.