Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2018 Fiano Piante a Lapio is impossible to ignore, with a cascade of minty herbs and citrus sorbet accentuating freshly sliced nectarine. This smooths over the palate with silken, near oily textures, perfectly offset by a core of zesty acidity as ripe pit fruits and hints of ginger swirl throughout. It finishes long yet remarkably fresh and potent, leaving a lifting air of menthol and confectionary spice to linger on. This is Fiano at its absolute finest. The Piante a Lapio is sourced from 80-to-100-year-old Fiano planted in high-altitude volcanic soils. It is fermented spontaneously in chestnut and acacia wood casks and aged in those same vessels for nearly five years.
Fiano is an aromatic, white variety fully suited to the Apennine Mountains of Campania and has been documented in the region since the 13th century. It is at its best in the hills of Avellino where volcanic soils give it a charismatic aromatic lift and support a range of styles from taut and steely to nutty and smooth. Somm Secret—If you like Chardonnay, Viognier or Pinot Blanc, Fiano would be a great new wine to try!
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.