I’m a big fan of Aglianico and when it comes to stern, tannic and ageworthy reds, I think Aglianico del Vulture and especially Taurasi are some of the best appellations in Italy. This is why I was delighted when a friend of mine arranged a tasting on a lesser-known Aglianico appellation, Aglianico del Taburno, in last May.
Well, it seems that even though the grape variety can make some very lovely wines, it doesn’t guarantee that all the producers - or even appellations - are willing to make the most out of it. I considered only a small fraction of the wines we tasted as actually good wines, and even they weren’t good enough to make me consider buying them in lieu of a good Taurasi or Aglianico del Vulture. Most of the wines were made in a very oak-driven, often surprisingly soft and seldom particularly complex or serious modernist style and also a surprisingly big number of the wines seemed to be aging much more than I expected from an Aglianico.
So if these wines really were representative of the Aglianico del Taburno, maybe there’s a good reason why the appellation has remained in the shadow of Taurasi and Aglianico del Vulture…
After the tasting we scored the wines with three points that each of the 11 attendees could give to the wines however they wanted to (ie. 3; 2+1; or 1+1+1). This is the final score chart (with my points in parentheses):
1. 2012 La Fortezza Aglianico del Taburno Riserva, 12 pts. (83)
2. 2014 Ocone Aglianico del Taburno Vigna Pezza la Corte, 7 pts. (70)
3. 2011 Fontanavecchia Aglianico del Taburno Riserva Grave Mora, 5 pts. (90)
4. 2015 Fattoria La Rivolta Aglianico del Taburno Terra di Rivolta Riserva, 4 pts. (92)
5. 2016 La Fortezza Aglianico del Taburno, 3 pts. (82)
6. 2016 Ocone Aglianico del Taburno Anastasi, 1 pt. (69)
6. 2018 Viticoltori San Martino Aglianico del Taburno 24 Carati, 1 pt. (NR)
7. 2013 Cantina del Taburno Aglianico del Taburno Bue Apis, 0 pts. (NR)
7. 2017 Cantine Pietrefitte Aglianico del Taburno, 0 pts. (81)
7. 2015 Fontanavecchia Aglianico del Taburno Riserva Vigna Cataratte, 0 pts. (90)
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2018 Viticoltori San Martino Aglianico del Taburno 24 Carati - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
Viticoltori San Martino is a project of the local co-op, Cantina di Solopaca, which makes wines only from growers farming organically cultivated vineyards. 100% organically farmed Aglianico from vineyards averaging 20 yo. Fermented and macerated for 20 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged in oak barrels for 24 months. 13,5% alcohol.
Youthful, translucent ruby-red color. The nose feels dark-toned but also surprisingly reticent with brooding aromas of dusty cherries, some gravelly mineral tones and a hint of rubbery reduction. The wine feels ripe, somewhat dull and very understated on the palate with a medium body and very reticent flavors of sweet black cherries, some earthy tones, a little bit of gravelly minerality and a hint of tart lingonberry. The wine is medium-to-moderately high in acidity with supple medium tannins. The finish is dull, gently grippy and still somewhat tough with a dry, abrupt aftertaste of tart lingonberries, some gravelly mineral tones, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness and a hint of dusty black cherry.
A very understated and uninteresting Aglianico that offers very little of excitement. I have no idea whether the wine is this dull and reticent just by design or if we had a bottle that was just very slightly corked - enough to kill the fruit but not enough to exhibit any musty TCA aromas. Even with air the wine didn't open up, nor did it start to feel corked, either. Still one person liked the wine enough to give it one point: in total the wine got 1 point from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on shared sixth place. As I feel it is possible the wine might've been corked, I refrain from assigning it a rating. At this quality this wine was definitely not worth the 35€. -
2017 Cantine Pietrefitte Aglianico del Taburno - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% Aglianico from a vineyard planted in 2005. Fermented and macerated for 15-20 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged in oak barriques for 6 months. 14,5% alcohol.
Luminous, translucent cherry-red color. The nose feels a bit reticent with aromas of crushed black raspberries, some fermented cherries, light dusty notes of sun-baked earth and a hint of old wood. The wine feels dry, firm and somewhat austere on the palate with a medium body and savory flavors of tart lingonberries and sour cherry bitterness, some fresh red plums, light dusty notes of sun-baked earth, a hint of brambly raspberry and a touch of old wood. The wine is quite high in acidity with moderately grippy tannins. The finish is tart, dry and quite grippy with a linear and somewhat short aftertaste of fresh black raspberries, some crunchy redcurrants, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light earthy notes and a hint of old wood.
This wine does show nice sense of structure, but aromatically the wine is very understated - to the point of being mute and austere. The fruit department feels quite meagre and a bit thin, which is a bit at odds with the rather tough and extracted structure. Can't really say the wine is giving much. At 12€ the wine still manages to feel a bit expensive for its quality. The wine got zero points from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on shared last place.
(81 points) -
2016 La Fortezza Aglianico del Taburno - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% Aglianico. 13,5% alcohol.
Luminous, youthful and moderately translucent blackish-red color. The nose feels sweet and sunny with aromas of strawberries, some lactic notes of blueberry yogurt, light sweet and creamy nuances of diacetyl, a little bit of cherry juice, a hint of cassis and a touch of cherry pits. The wine feels surprisingly round, soft and mellow on the palate with a moderately full body and quite sweet-toned crowdpleaser flavors of cherry jam, some sweet fruit jelly-like notes of diacetyl, a little bit of vanilla, light licorice root tones, a hint of cloves and a touch of cassis. The wine comes across as a bit blowzy with its medium acidity and gentle medium-minus tannins. The finish is ripe, juicy and moderately long with flavors of cherry juice, some oaky notes of vanilla and cloves, a little bit of gravelly minerality, light marmaladey notes of fruit jellies and a hint of licorice root.
A drinkable but also very soft, accessible and mellow Aglianico that has exchanged structure and character for easy-drinking crowdpleaser style. I can understand the appeal of this kind of soft, sweet-toned and fruit-forward wine, but this isn't my cup of tea, not at all. Especially the faint yet immediately identifiable streak of diacetyl - that turns those already ripe fruit flavors into very sweet jelly-like flavors - is a major turn-off for me. Not worth the 17€. The wine got 3 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on fifth place.
(82 points) -
2016 Ocone Aglianico del Taburno Anastasi - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
A blend of Aglianico (90%) and Piedirosso (10%) from the older estate vineyards. Fermented and macerated with the skins for two weeks in tanks. After the fermentation the wine is racked into 2nd-use barriques for the MLF. Once the MLF has finished, the wine is aged for a total of 12 months in tonneaux and new barriques. 14% alcohol.
Deep, dark and slightly translucent blackish-red color with a subtly evolved brick-red hue. The lush crowd-pleaser nose feels ridiculously sweet with aromas of Bourbon-like vanilla, some strawberry jam, light overripe cherry tones, a little bit of cloves, a hint of dusty wood and a touch of caramel. The wine smells like those horrible red wines aged in ex-Whisky and ex-Bourbon casks. Hrrr. The wine feels soft, sweet-toned and rather artificial on the palate with a medium body and lush mulled wine-like flavors of cloves and cinnamon, some Bourbon-like vanilla tones, a little bit of strawberry juice, light oaky notes of caramel, a hint of cherry marmalade and a touch of toasty, sweet-toned oak spice. The medium acidity doesn't give any freshness or energy to the wine, but at least the ample and rather grippy tannins bring some welcome firmness to the mouthfeel. The finish is long and quite grippy with a lush, very lengthy aftertaste of Bourbon vanilla and toasty Brandy-like wood spice, light caramel tones, a little bit of strawberry jam, a hint of cloves and cinnamon and a touch of overripe black cherry.
Ye gods, this was pretty repulsive stuff. Apart from the nice, enjoyably firm tannins, this wine had basically everything I would never want to see in my red wine! I mean, really, this drank more like a mulled wine someone just forgot to sweeten fully than a classic, stern Aglianico. I hope this wine won't be anyone's first introduction to the variety, because this wine does a horrible job of representing this excellent cultivar. At 15€ this is just waste of money. Yet still, one person liked the wine enough to give it one point: in total the wine got 1 point from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on shared sixth place.
(69 points) -
2015 Fontanavecchia Aglianico del Taburno Riserva Vigna Cataratte - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% Aglianico harvested in late October. Fermented and macerated for 12 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged in oak barriques for 18 months. 14,5% alcohol.
Dark, somewhat translucent and quite luminous dark ruby color with a slightly evolved brick-red hue. The nose feels quite big and sunny with aromas of ripe black cherries, some wizened dark plums, a little bit of sweet figgy fruit, light leathery tones and a hint of earthy spices. The wine feels dry, firm and sinewy on the palate with a moderately full body and quite solar flavors of ripe dark forest fruits, some juicy red plums, a little bit of leathery funk, light woody tones, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of ripe redcurrants. The wine is rather high in acidity with ample, firm tannins that slowly pile up on the gums. The finish is long, savory and moderately grippy with some alcohol warmth and a quite intense aftertaste of ripe dark berries, some red plums, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light woody notes of savory oak spice and a hint of earth.
A firm, balanced and serious Aglianico that has a somewhat Nebbiolo-like feel to it. Had this been served blind, I might've guessed it was a warmer-vintage Barolo! All in all, a pretty enjoyable effort that is quite approachable already, but shows good potential for further development. The firm tannins do call for some food, though! Priced according to its quality at 26€. This was one of my favorites in this tasting, but still the wine no points from any of the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on shared last place.
(90 points) -
2015 Fattoria La Rivolta Aglianico del Taburno Terra di Rivolta Riserva - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% organically farmed Aglianico, harvested in November. Fermented and macerated with the skins for 20 to 25 days in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 18 months in new oak barriques. 14,5% alcohol.
Deep, slightly evolved and somewhat translucent pomegranate color. The nose feels fragrant with attractive, fine-tuned aromas of ripe dark berries, some fresh black cherries, light licorice tones, a little bit of plummy fruit, a hint of dried flowers and a touch of savory wood spice. The wine feels dense, stern and slightly evolved with a medium-to-moderately full body and dry, intense flavors of wizened red plums, some leathery tones, a little bit of crunchy redcurrants and sour cherry bitterness, light woody notes of savory oak spice, a hint of dried cherry and a ferrous touch of blood. The overall feel is quite structure-driven with the rather high acidity and assertive, grippy tannins. The finish is dry, tannic and pretty tightly-knit with a long, savory aftertaste of tart lingonberries and sour cherry bitterness, some woody tones, a little bit of sweet red plum, light gravelly mineral nuances, a hint of licorice root and a touch of blood.
A very impressive, stern and quite dead-serious Aglianico that reminds me both aromatically and structurally quite a bit of a traditionalist Barolo. I was surprised to learn from the producer's website that the wine is aged in new oak barriques - either the wine carries the oak influence exceptionally well, or then the description of the wine on the website might be different from this vintage. I most certainly didn't pick any obvious new oak characteristics from this wine (unlike from several other Aglianicos we tasted at the same time). Based on the somewhat evolved overall feel and slightly dried-fruit character of the wine, I'd say it might not be that cellarworthy - even if the stern, grippy tannins could use some additional aging! However, I feel the wine isn't going to be falling apart anytime soon. Drink now or over the next 5-7 years. Priced according to its quality at 28€. Although the wine was my favorite of the evening, it got only 4 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on fourth place.
(92 points) -
2014 Ocone Aglianico del Taburno Vigna Pezza la Corte - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% Aglianico harvested from a 1-hectare Pezza la Corte-vineyard. Fermented and macerated for 14 days in tanks. Aged in a combination of oak barriques and stainless steel tanks for 9 months. 13,5% alcohol.
Deep, somewhat evolved and moderately translucent figgy red color. The nose feels very sweet and polished with quite lush aromas of vanilla oak and blueberry juice, some plummy tones, a little bit of cherry marmalade, light strawberry jam tones, a hint of cloves and a sweet, buttery and slightly jelly-like streak of diacetyl. The wine is very sweet-toned, gloopy and polished on the palate with a moderately full body and dry yet almost cloying flavors of vanilla and cloves, some strawberry jam, a little bit of cherry marmalade, light plummy tones, a hint of allspice and a touch of blueberry juice. The overall feel is soft and mellow with the medium acidity and supple, light tannins. The rather brief finish is soft, flabby and just barely grippy with a sweet-toned aftertaste of vanilla and cloves, some strawberry tones, a little bit of raspberry jam, light chocolatey oak tones and a hint of overripe cherry.
This was more or less as horrible as the 2016 Ocone Anastasi we tasted at the same time - the wine is soft, gloopy and heavily over-oaked with almost mulled-wine aromatics and not a smidgen of the structure that Aglianico is renowned for. It's hard for me to say which wine was worse - Anastasi or this Pezza la Corte - as they were somewhat different, but both quite repulsive in their own way. Anastasi had those great, firm and grippy tannins one should expect from an Aglianico, but otherwise it was even more over-the-top, showing bigger body, more extraction and more overripe flavors. This Pezza la Corte was lighter in body with less obtrusive alcohol, but the tannic structure was almost nonexistent here and despite not being as big, ripe and concentrated as the Anastasi version, this was still way too ripe and sweet for my preference. All in all, this completely unlike what a good Aglianico should be and plain waste of money at 18€. Yet still, several people loved the heady, jammy aromatics and soft structure of the wine for some reason, so it got 7 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on second place.
(70 points) -
2013 Cantina del Taburno Aglianico del Taburno Bue Apis - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
Made exclusively with grapes sourced from a centenarian vineyard, harvested in early-to-mid November. Fully destemmed and crushed, then fermented and macerated with the skins for 40 days. 14% alcohol.
Quite evolved and moderately translucent blackish-red color with a brick-orange hue towards the rim. The nose feels old and quite oxidative with rather dull aromas of raisins and soy sauce, some licorice tones, light earthy nuances, a little bit of dried dates, a hint of wizened black cherry and a touch of old wood. The wine feels dry, old and tired on the palate with a moderately full body and quite oxidative flavors of soy sauce and beef jerky, some raisiny tones, a little bit of alcohol warmth, light sweet notes of dried figs and wizened black cherries, a hint of earth and a touch of balsamico. The structure has resolved remarkably little and the wine feels very tough with its high acidity and assertive, grippy tannins. The finish is old, tough and very grippy with some alcohol warmth and a tired aftertaste of balsamic VA and sweet raisiny fruit, some dried dates, a little bit of beef jerky, light woody tones and a hint of earth.
I guess this might've been pretty impressive wine at some point, but now there was pretty much nothing left of the fruit. Most likely the wine was premoxed - it's hard to see this kind of wine falling apart in just a decade. Unsurprisingly, the wine received no points from any of the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on shared last place. At 45€ this particular bottle was nothing but waste of money, unfortunately.
(NR/flawed) -
2012 La Fortezza Aglianico del Taburno Riserva - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% Aglianico. 14% alcohol.
Surprisingly youthful and somewhat translucent blackish-garnet color. The nose feels a bit dull, quite closed and slightly odd with no obvious fruit aromas, just a vague note of those freeze-dried chicken pieces I feed to my cats. Nothing I'd really want to find in my wine. The wine feels supple, velvety and somewhat sweet-toned on the palate with a full body and rich flavors of vanilla, overripe black cherries, some strawberry and blackberry tones, a little bit of clove, light meaty notes of umami and again a hint of those dried chicken pieces. The structure relies more on the somewhat grippy medium-minus tannins that slowly pile up on the gums than on the soft medium acidity. The finish is long, somewhat grippy and a bit warm with a dry yet very sweet-toned aftertaste of black cherries and cherry marmalade, some overripe strawberries, a little bit of blackberry, light oaky notes of vanilla and cloves, a hint of meaty umami and a touch of cocoa.
This was an odd - and not particularly memorable - effort. I found the wine to be more enjoyably than the similarly sweet and cloying 2016 normale version of the same wine, as this Riserva had a bit more tannic structure, slightly more evolved complexity and didn't sport any distracting diacetyl notes. However, that odd aroma and taste of freeze-dried chicken did take its own toll, so I can't really say this was that much better than the normale. At 23€ the wine feels quite expensive for its quality. However, I seemed to be rather alone with my assessment, as the wine was otherwise quite the crowd favorite: it got 12 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on first place.
(83 points) -
2011 Fontanavecchia Aglianico del Taburno Riserva Grave Mora - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
Macerated for 15 months with the skins in stainless steel. Aged for 18 months in new French oak barriques. Lot number L1344, 15% alcohol.
Slightly evolved, moderately opaque blackish-red color with a faint figgy hue. The nose feels big, ripe and somewhat sweet-toned with sunny aromas of juicy black cherries and black raspberries, some sweet red plums, a little bit of Bassett's black wine gum, light licorice root nuances, a slightly evolved hint of gamey meat, a touch of balsamic richness and a whiff of alcohol. The wine feels ripe, broad and slightly evolved with a full body and somewhat solar flavors of wizened black cherries and dark plums, some strawberry tones, a little bit of licorice root and leather, light balsamic tones, a hint of ripe black raspberry and a developed touch of gamey meat. There's some sense of richness to the mouthfeel, but the moderately high acidity and somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins keep the overall feel firm and balanced. The finsih is savory, quite ripe and rather grippy with a somewhat sweet-toned and a bit evolved aftertaste of wizened black cherries and juicy dark plums, some earthy tones, a little bit of dried figs, light leathery nuances, a hint of gamey meat and a touch of tobacco. The high alcohol makes the wine end on a somewhat warm note.
A rather big and ripe Aglianico, but fortunately not without sense of firmness and structure. The overall feel is a bit on the sunny side, emphasizing sweet fruit flavors - only accentuated by the dried-fruit notes brought by the age - and relatively high alcohol, yet still the overall feel is pretty sophisticated and harmonious, all things considered. Especially it is surprising how very little obvious oak character there is, considering how the producer says the wine is aged for 1½ years in new oak barriques! If that really is the case, the wine carries its oak remarkably well. All in all, a nice effort - perhaps not built for the long haul, but won't be falling apart in the near future. The wine got 5 points from the eleven participants in our tasting of eleven Aglianicos del Taburno, making it finish on third place.
(90 points) -
2016 Ocone Aglianico del Taburno Apollo - Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno (22.5.2023)
100% Aglianico from all the estate vineyards. Fermented and macerated with the skins for ten days in tanks. Aged in stainless steel tanks. 13,5% alcohol.
Luminous, youthful ruby-red color. The nose feels ripe and sweet-toned with aromas of juicy Bing cherries and some fresh dark berries, a little bit of red licorice, light plummy tones and a hint of vanilla. The wine feels juicy, youthful and somewhat linear on the palate with a moderately full body and flavors of ripe dark berries, some sour red plums, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light sweet notes of jammy red fruits, a hint of something metallic and a touch of vanilla. The structure relies more on the moderately high acidity than on the ripe, mellow tannins. The finish is ripe, sweet-toned and subtly grippy with a soft aftertaste of juicy red plums, some brambly notes of raspberry, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light sweet nuances of jammy red berries and a touch of vanilla. The soft tannins make the wine end on a very gently grippy note.
I was very surprised to learn the wine was - according to the producer - aged in stainless steel tanks, because the wine had that unmistakable vanilla note that seems to be the hallmark of every Ocone red. If the wine really is aged only in stainless steel tanks, I wonder if they just use oak adjuncts? Although it might be possible I'm just imagining things, but I hope that is not the case. All in all, the wine was unrated because it was served as an extra wine after the tasting of ten other Aglianico del Taburnos - however, the wine didn't seem to stir much interest among the attendees, so I doubt it would've managed to get many points. However, I still found this entry-level wine somewhat better and more enjoyable than the completely overdone vanilla bombs that were supposed to represent the higher-tier Ocone wines (Vigna Pezza le Corte and Anastasi).
(78 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
Amen to that! Can’t really disagree with it, having gone through these wines.