Winemaker Notes
Don Anselmo is a landmark wine made from 100% Aglianico grapes, the native varietal in Basilicata for which the region is renowned. It is dedicated to the winery’s founder, Anselmo Paternoster, and represents the history, roots, and continued importance of the Paternoster family in the area of production of the wines, Vulture. The grapes come from small and particularly old vineyard parcels in Barile, located at 2000 feet above sea level, with naturally low yields (35- 40 quintals per hectare). The soil is volcanic, with a significant levels of lava and ash.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Aglianico del Vulture Don Anselmo sees fruit sourced from a 4.5-hectare single vineyard located at 600 meters above sea level. Soils are composed of compressed ash and crushed volcanic sponge rock. The wine opens to tangy fruit aromas that are brooding and thick. Background aromas of tar, smoke and cigar ash give the wine dimension and complexity. The wine is tight in terms of its texture and tannins and could use a few more years of bottle aging before you pop the cork. Fruit was harvested on the 23rd and 24th of October. Don Anselmo is fermented in equal parts steel vat and oak barrel. It then ages in wood for 20 months, followed by an additional six months in steel (that replaced older cement vats). The 2015 vintage is hitting the market now.
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Wine & Spirits
The Paternoster family makes about 150,000 bottles a year from their 50 vineyard acres on the slopes of Mount Vulture in Basilicata. Don Anselmo is their top wine, made from the estate’s oldest vines, growing in volcanic soils at 2,000 feet of elevation. It’s dense and formidably tannic, its plum and raspberry flavors infused with notes of graphite and tobacco. Brisk acidity balances the wine’s smoky richness, keeping the structure lithe.
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James Suckling
This is a delicious and exotic red with clove, tea-leaf and ripe-fruit aromas and flavors. Full body, soft tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Anise coming through at the end. Delicious finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Named after the founder of the winery, this is an effusive, rich and structured wine. An enveloping nose of blueberry tart, sour cream, iodine and crushed rock carries to the broad palate, with roasted hazelnut chiming in. The fruit feels rounded and lush but held in check by pulsing acidity and fine-grained tannins. Drink through 2030.
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.