Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Dark and understated in the glass. The 2019 Aglianico del Vulture Pian del Cerro blends shaved cedar with dusty stone and dried berry aromas. It's silky-smooth with cooling acidity and crisply ripe red and black fruits that cascade across a core of brisk acidity. This finishes long, classically dry and structured. A web of fine-grained tannins blankets the senses as licorice and spice notes fade. Very nice. In fact, the only thing I can hold against the Pian del Cerro is the necessary heft of the bottle.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose is warm with fruit, as undertones of old leather and wet bricks both underscore and balance the leading aromas of dried figs, plums and hibiscus. On the palate, a bed of rose petals lightens that fruit depth, but taut tannins and hot acid bring yet more complexity.
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.