Winemaker Notes
This ruby-red wine has a full, complex spectrum of aromas, particularly of violet and blackberries. On the palate, it is full-bodied and mouth-filling, with persistent and elegant notes of plum, bitter cherry, strawberry jam and black pepper.
Radici Taurasi pairs flawlessly with roasted meats, larger game, spicy Middle Eastern dishes, truffles and aged, flavorful cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A benchmark for Aglianico, Radici was first produced in 1986. A wine to age for decades, yet surprisingly approachable now. Great density with concentration and depth. Aged two years in oak and two in bottle, this has intense, pure fruit allied to subtle oak, fine tannins and elegance. Some smoky, mineral flavours starting to appear. Ultra refined. A wine with real sense of place. Drinking Window 2023 - 2050
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James Suckling
I love the spicy and lifted notes here of caramelized orange peel, dried meat, blackcurrants, pomegranate, sea urchin and bark. A seamless and wonderfully elegant, medium-bodied palate follows with finely grained tannins and loads of floral undertones. This wine is all about transparency and subtlety. Best Radici in years. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Mastroberardino 2015 Taurasi Radici is a dark and savory wine with thickly stacked aromas of black fruit, tar, licorice and campfire ash. This is a baritone Taurasi from a warm and sunny vintage that boasts concentrated and rich flavors as a result. Despite the evident power you get here, Taurasi has a beautiful manner of staying focused and sharp nonetheless. This wine demonstrates that quality very nicely.
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Wine & Spirits
This wine’s initial volatile notes blow off to unveil concentrated plum and raspberry flavors infused with notes of black tea, smoke and rare steak. Its firm tannins and smoky, ferrous flavors will appeal to fans who appreciate aglianico’s meaty and earthy character.
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.