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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Wine Enthusiast
A meaty nose offers aromas of cured salami with fennel seeds that contrasts with vanilla-cherry sweetness. The palate of this wine adds concentrated, dried and stewed fruit flavors of prunes and figs. A long dark-chocolate and coffee finish meanders through tannins that are navigable if imposing.
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Vinous
Like an amplified expression of everything expected from an Aglianico del Vulture, the 2017 Don Anselmo lifts from the glass with a savory and exotic bouquet as musky currants, underbrush and cigar ash are contrasted by nuances of ginger and spiced citrus rinds. It’s unexpectedly soft and pliant on the palate with creamy waves of textural black fruits, yet beneath it all, a web of fine tannins slowly builds. Wood tones, liquid-dried florals and a potent staining of primary concentration are left to linger through the long finale, as the Don Anselmo displays its hulking structure. Bury this beast in the cellar for at least three to five years.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
A rich, savory red, with a fragrant mix of leather, tar, grilled herbs and loamy earth, plus flavors of sun-dried cherry and date. The spiced finish reveals firm tannins that are dusty but well-knit.
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.