Italy’s Great Unknown: Aglianico del Vulture

By Ed McCarthy

May 1, 2007

Almost all the Italian wines that are acclaimed by critics hail from north of Rome: renowned wines like Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, and the Super-Tuscans, such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia.  But one of Italy’s best red wines comes from a region in southern Italy which is practically unknown to the outside world–Basilicata.

In fact, even most Italians have never visited this remote region, surrounded by Campania to the north and west, Puglia to the east, and Calabria to the south.   And yet a grape variety called Aglianico makes it home on the hillsides of mountainous Basilicata, especially around Vulture, an extinct volcano.  Those wine lovers who have heard of Aglianico usually know it as the variety that makes Taurasi, Campania’s most famous red wine.  But Basilicata is Aglianico’s Italian home–although it originated in Greece, as did most grape varieties in southern Italy.  Aglianico arrived in what is now Basilicata around the 7th century B.C., and shortly after made its way to Campania.

Basilicata traditionally has been one of Italy’s poorest regions.  It is almost entirely mountainous and very cold in the winter, with few good roads.  Until it was awarded its first DOC (Aglianico del Vulture) in 1971, most of Basilicata’s wine was bottled in neighboring Puglia, as Pugliese wine.  As Burton Anderson reports in his epic, The Wine Atlas of Italy, ‘…Aglianico from the volcanic heights of Monte Vulture was more often than not the best of the wines they [Puglia] bottled as their own.’

Monte Vulture is in northwest Basilicata.  The eastern slopes of Vulture, around the towns of Rionero, Barile, and Melfi, are the sites of the best Aglianico vineyards.  The soil, composed largely of deposits from the ancient lava flows, is rich in potassium and tufa, the porous calcium carbonate stone that is ideal for grape growing.  The late-ripening Aglianico variety thrives in this soil and climate.

Aglianico in many ways resembles Nebbiolo, the renowned variety that produces Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont.  Not only are both late-ripening, and capable of growing successfully only in very limited areas, but both are also tannic, acidic varieties which typically require many years before their wines are approachable and mature enough to enjoy.  Also, both Aglianico and Nebbiolo-based wines turn garnet in color with maturity.  If anything, Barolo and Barbaresco are even more firm and more complex in aroma and flavor than Aglianico wines, and require longer aging.  Aglianico del Vulture, for example, can often be enjoyed six to nine years after the vintage; many traditionally-made Barolos require ten to 15 years of maturing, sometimes longer.  The other good news in the comparison of Aglianico del Vulture with Barolo and Barbaresco is that most Aglianicos are about half as expensive.

Donato D’Angelo has long been the leading producer of Aglianico del Vulture, and his wines can be found throughout the U.S.  The other renowned Vulture producer is Paternoster.  For a long time, the wines of D’Angelo and Paternoster were the only two Aglianico del Vultures you could find in the U.S.  But on a recent trip to Basilicata, I discovered a half-dozen or more producers whose Aglianico del Vulture wines are now being imported into the U.S.  It looks as if this obscure gem from southern Italy has finally been discovered here.  These are some Aglianico del Vulture wines that I tasted:

Giannattasio, Aglianico del Vulture (Basilicata, Italy) ‘Arca’ 2004 ($32, Bacchanal Wine Imports): The 2004 Arca has firm tannins, is dry and medium-balanced, a pleasant change after the rich 2003s.  Rather modern style, less rustic than many of the other Aglianico del Vultures.  89

http://www.winereviewonline.com/ed_mccarthy_on_aglianico.cfm#

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