Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has an attractive nose of blackberries, olives, charcuterie, peppercorns and cloves. Some iodine and lemon zest. Medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, spread evenly across the palate, layered with fresh dark fruit and peppery spice notes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A pure expression of Aglianico, the Montevetrano 2019 Core Rosso (with a big read heart on the front label) is a love song from vintner Silvia Imparato to her homeland. This dynamic woman helped to change and modernize the image of Campania wines over the years, and she was among the first to shine a light on the little-known province of Salerno. This is a less formal red wine, engineered for epic nights under the stars with second and third servings of pasta and meat on the grill. The wine is bright and lifted with dark cherry, light spice and a satisfying, food-friendly personality.
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.