Tag: campania

Refreshing Italian White for the Summer Months

Today’s Story: Feudi di San Gregorio

Feudi di San Gregorio is a fairly large winery established in 1986 in the village of Sorbo Serpico in Irpinia (Province of Avellino) of the Campania region of Southern Italy. Though Feudi di San Gregorio consists of about 300 hectares of vineyards and they produce roughly 3.5 million bottles of wine annually, the winery is known for their high quality and a dedication to native varieties such as Aglianico, Falanghina, Greco, and Fiano. Many of their vines are a century old (some even closer to 150 years old), providing Feudi di San Gregorio with unique holdings after many of their neighbors replanted to non-native varieties. This being said, they don’t entirely ignore non-native varieties and have a small percentage of their vines planted to Merlot. With all these factors in mind, Feudi di San Gregorio is often credited as a leading winery bringing glory to Campania with a marriage of tradition and modern winemaking.

I previously wrote about the Feudi di San Gregorio 2010 Pàtrimo, so feel free to check that out if Merlot is your thing!

Today’s Wine: 2016 Fiano di Avellino

100% Fiano; 13% ABV

The 2016 Fiano di Avellino is medium yellow in color with deep straw hues. Aromas are of medium intensity but beautifully perfumed, showcasing notes of lemon, pear skins, yellow apple, honeysuckle, beeswax, dried green herbs, and chalky mineral. Meanwhile the palate is also of medium intensity, with notes of lemon, pear, honeydew melon, nectarine, chamomile, flint, white pepper, and savory herbs. This dry white is light- to medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a long finish. This is a very enjoyable and refreshing wine.

Price: $22. Fiano is a variety that I need to explore further, though for the price-point here I think this offers pretty solid value. The quality is palpable and this wine is an absolute pleasure to drink, so I’ll be stocking up for the warmer weather.

Rustic Yet Elegant Italian Merlot

Today’s Story: Feudi di San Gregorio

Feudi di San Gregorio is a fairly large winery established in 1986 in the village of Sorbo Serpico in Irpinia (Province of Avellino) of the Campania region of Southern Italy. Though Feudi di San Gregorio consists of about 300 hectares of vineyards and they produce roughly 3.5 million bottles of wine annually, the winery is known for their high quality and a dedication to native varieties such as Aglianico, Falanghina, Greco, and Fiano. Many of their vines are a century old (some even closer to 150 years old), providing Feudi di San Gregorio with unique holdings after many of their neighbors replanted to non-native varieties. This being said, they don’t entirely ignore non-native varieties and have a small percentage of their vines planted to Merlot. With all these factors in mind, Feudi di San Gregorio is often credited as a leading winery bringing glory to Campania with a marriage of tradition and modern winemaking.

Today’s Wine: 2010 Pàtrimo

100% Merlot; 14% ABV

The 2010 Pàtrimo is opaque deep ruby in color with a touch of deep garnet variation near the rim. Still youthful in appearance and taste out of the bottle, I decanted this for about 90 minutes. Afterwards, the nose exploded into aromas of blackberry, plum, licorice, sweet tobacco, savory grilled herbs, sun-dried earth, clay, chocolate, and slight oaky spice. Meanwhile on the palate I get notes of black cherry, blackberry, plum, cola, tobacco, green herbs, bay leaf, crushed rock, scorched earth, iron, and bitter chocolate. This is medium- to full-bodied with medium acidity, dusty medium (+) tannins, and a long finish. While very elegant, this is fairly rustic for a Merlot and certainly shows its Italian charm.

Price: $120 to $165 depending on location (I paid $40 on sale in 2018). I think the $120 range is rather fair, though if you find this closer to $165 that is certainly pushing it. This wine is absolutely gorgeous right now and offers great depth and the ability to go for at least another 5 years. Me paying $40 for this was an absolute robbery, and I’m thankful to have two bottles left to try over the years to come.

An Italian Legend

Today’s Story: Mastroberardino

Mastroberardino is a family-operated winery founded in 1878 in Atripalda within the Provincia di Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. While widely known for their production of Taurasi DOCG, Mastroberardino further cemented themselves into Italian viticultural history through tireless efforts to identify and protect native ancient varieties in Campania, particularly those formerly grown in Pompeii. For instance, Mastroberardino was selected by the Italian government in 1996 to oversee the Villa dei Misteri project in Pompeii where they replanted vineyards destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79 using the same plans, varieties, viticulture, and winemaking practices of that period in time. Though the winery has had its ups and downs over time (including near collapse following WWII due to economic hardship, phylloxera, neglect, and even family feuds), Antonio Mastroberardino resurrected his family’s legacy and helped build the winery into what it is today: a standard bearer of winemaking in southern Italy. Traditionalists in style, Mastroberardino continues to make some of Italy’s most historically important wines with Antonio’s son Piero now at the helm.

The wine I am reviewing today received countless critical acclaim, and is largely considered the wine that brought significant attention to winemaking in the Campania region and the immense potential of the Aglianico variety.

Today’s Wine: 1968 Taurasi Riserva

100% Aglianico; 12% ABV

The 1968 Taurasi Riserva is almost entirely opaque and is deep ruby in color with garnet variation, especially near the rim. This is shockingly youthful right out of the bottle and we let it decant for about an hour before enjoying over the next hour-plus. The nose showcases aromas of black cherry, black plum, forest floor, tobacco leaf, black truffle, smoked game, white pepper, black tea, underbrush, oregano, and dried rose. Once in the mouth, this beautiful wine displays notes of dried blackberry, black cherry, cigar box, forest floor, mushroom, leather, tar, ash, smoke, peppercorn, and green herbs. The wine is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, refined medium tannins, and a long finish.

Price: $850 (though this came into our possession years ago for a much lower cost). This is truly a unicorn wine that I will surely never taste again, and a bottle we were very lucky to receive with the purchase of a private wine collection. Pair this with braised beef, venison, wild boar, or grilled lamb.