Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with all dishes with a base of meat and aged cheeses..
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
You gotta love the little spider depicted on the front label of this wine. It refers to the mystical cult of Tarantism practiced in this part of Southern Italy in which a tarantula bite is believed to send women (mostly) into an all-night frenzy. Tarantism is revived and widely popular today as a rave-like dance craze. The 2015 Aglianico del Vulture Piano del Cerro is packaged in a very heavy glass bottle. It pours out slowly to reveal dried blackberry, spice, Spanish cedar and campfire ash. This Aglianico is virtually impenetrable in appearance. The oak-driven tannins are sweet and spicy. This is a big wine with a capital B.
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.