Winemaker Notes
Giallo d’Arles is an exceptional expression of the Greco di Tufo grape, notable in Campania for its higher pigment content, which gives sun-exposed grapes golden hues with amber tones and a reddish-ochre must, and it is produced from a single vineyard with partial fermentation in new oak barrels and no clarification, resulting in a white wine with the structure and refinement of a red, combining deep minerality with flavors of apricot and quince marmalade, offering a full and fresh palate, remarkable aging potential, and developing elegance, complexity, and harmony over time, while its name honors Van Gogh’s favorite color during his stay in Arles, a yellow that hints at red.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Quintodecimo 2024 Greco di Tufo Giallo d'Arles is partially oak-fermented (with 30% going into new barrique and the rest in stainless steel) and sources its fruit from a 12-hectare site with tuffaceous sand and clay soils that are typical of this important DOCG wine area in southern Italy. These environmental conditions impart unique mineral sharpness and focus to the wines. I love that hint of marine-like saltiness that frames crisp pear and unripe peach. This is a nuanced vintage that offers pretty aromas, tension and more structural firmness than you might expect. There is good runway for further bottle aging.
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Vinous
Airy and fresh, the 2024 Giallo d'Arles wafts up with a whiff of white smoke and stone dust, giving way to lime zest, green melon and chlorophyll. Salty minerals contrast with candied citrus and tart Granny Smith apple over soothingly round textures. The 2024 finishes poised and crisp with a saline resonance and nuances of mint.
A late-ripening, medium-bodied variety from Campania, Greco delivers a relatively high acidity and flaunts an invigorating mineral character alongside fresh citrus, stone fruitand herb flavors. Somm Secret—The name Tufo comes from the soft, volcanic rock found all over in the subsoil of the region where Greco thrives.
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.