Ryme Luna Matta Vineyard Aglianico 2014
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2014 Aglianico is incredibly concentrated with dark fruits, smoke, cured meat and cooking spices. It is powerful with large velvety tannins, richly fruit driven and balanced acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 Aglianico Luna Matta Vineyard simply sings of crushed black cherries, black raspberries and tobacco leaf with hints of tapenade, dried herbs and lavender. Medium-bodied, firm and chewy in the mouth with a racy line to lift the intense earthy layers, it finishes long and fragrant.
Other Vintages
2016-
Wilfred
Wong
Ryan and Megan started Ryme Cellars in 2007 with one ton of Aglianico. Excited by the intensity and complexity of this wine, they embarked on producing intriguing wines of varieties that they personally enjoy. To date they make two Vermentinos, Ribolla Gialla, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Aglianico under Ryme. In 2011, Ryan and Megan wanted to expand their production to include some great Sonoma County vineyards that produce the type of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that they love to drink. For this task, they created a new label called Verse Wines, as a compliment to the more esoteric Ryme portfolio. With Ryme & Verse, Ryan and Megan aspire to make honest and expressive wines that exhibit the characteristics of the variety and place from which it came.
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.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.