Aglianico: 'The Barolo of the South'
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Italy has three great red grapes. You probably know two of them already. Nebbiolo gives you Barolo and Barbaresco. Sangiovese gives you Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino.
The third is the one most people have never drunk: Aglianico. Firm tannins, bright acidity and the stamina to age for decades earned it a nickname that says it all: 'the Barolo of the South'.
And if one family is responsible for that reputation, it's the Mastroberardinos of Campania. Here's the story of the grape, the family that saved it, and the bottle we'd open tonight.
Aglianico: Italy's great southern grape
Aglianico (say ahl-YAH-nee-koh) is a dark-skinned grape grown mainly in Campania and Basilicata, in the mountainous interior of southern Italy. It has been there a very long time. The name first appears in print in 1520, and it has long been linked to the Greek settlers who colonised this coast: one theory traces it to vitis hellenica, "the Greek vine". Modern DNA work hasn't found a Greek parent, though, so it may be southern Italian through and through.
What sets it apart is structure. Thick skins give it deep colour and firm tannins, and it holds on to its acidity even in the southern heat. That combination is exactly what lets a wine age gracefully, and it's why the comparison with Nebbiolo keeps coming up.
It's also a grape that makes you wait. Aglianico ripens late, often hanging on the vine into November. In its grandest form it needs years in the cellar before it shows its best.
Irpinia and Taurasi: altitude and volcanic soils
The heart of Aglianico country is Irpinia, the green, hilly province of Avellino east of Naples. Vineyards here sit around 400 to 500 metres above sea level, higher in places. Days are warm, nights are cool, and the harvest stretches deep into autumn. The soils mix clay and limestone with volcanic material from Vesuvius.
In its grandest form, Irpinian Aglianico becomes Taurasi. It was made a DOC in 1970 and promoted to DOCG in 1993, the first in southern Italy. The rules are among the strictest in the country:
• At least 85% Aglianico
• At least three years' ageing before release, one of them in wood
• For the Riserva, four years, with at least 18 months in wood
Even then, a great Taurasi can need years more in the cellar before it really opens up.
The Mastroberardinos: ten generations in Irpinia
The family's winemaking roots go back to the 1750s, when a winemaker called Pietro di Berardino earned the title Mastro, master craftsman, and added it to his name. In 1878, Angelo Mastroberardino formally registered the business in Atripalda, just outside Avellino, to ship the family's wines to Europe and the Americas. By the early 1900s their bottles were selling in South America, North America and Scandinavia.
Then it all fell apart. Phylloxera reached Irpinia in the 1930s, the Depression hit, and the war cut the family off from the markets it had spent decades building. By 1945, the vineyards were almost gone.
Antonio Mastroberardino and his brother Walter set out to rebuild. The easy choice would have been to replant with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Chardonnay. Antonio refused. He bet instead on three ancient local grapes that had nearly disappeared: Fiano, Greco and Aglianico. He tracked down surviving vines across the region, which earned him the nickname "the archaeologist of the vines".
It took decades, but the bet paid off. Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo and Taurasi are now Campania's most celebrated wines, all three with DOCG status. For much of the 20th century, Mastroberardino was effectively the name in Taurasi. Their 1968 Taurasi is still talked about as one of Italy's legendary wines, and it helped give Aglianico its nickname. Jancis Robinson MW describes the family as by far the most famous producer of Aglianico in Taurasi.
Today the estate is run by Antonio's son Piero, the tenth generation.
Bringing the vines back to Pompeii
The Mastroberardino name became so closely tied to Campania's ancient vines that, in 1996, Pompeii's archaeological authorities turned to the family with an extraordinary request: find out what grew in the city before Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, and bring the vines back.
Pompeii was a wine town. Its frescoes are full of red wine being poured and drunk, and archaeologists had found vineyards inside the city walls. Casts of vine roots, preserved by the eruption itself, helped identify what had been planted there. Working from that evidence and from Roman writers such as Pliny, the family replanted two ancient local red varieties, Piedirosso and Sciascinoso, and later added Aglianico to the vineyards inside the ruins.
The first vintage, 2001, was named Villa dei Misteri after one of Pompeii's most famous villas. Just 1,721 bottles were made. Most were sold at auction in Rome, with the proceeds going towards restoring Pompeii's ancient wine cellars. It remains one of the most unusual wines in the world: grown on ground that lay buried under ash for centuries.
Mastro Aglianico: no need to wait
Taurasi asks for patience. Mastro is the family's answer to that wait: the same grape, from the same family, made to be enjoyed now. You get all of Aglianico's dark fruit and character, without the decade in the cellar.
The grapes come from Irpinia, high in the hills east of Naples, where the soils carry volcanic material from Vesuvius. It's an easy way in to a grape that can feel intimidating in its grander forms, and a good reason to see what the fuss is about before you go looking for a Taurasi.
Tasting notes
• Colour: deep ruby with violet edges
• Nose: black cherry, wild blackberry and violets, with a gentle note of spice
• Palate: medium-bodied, fresh and juicy, with Aglianico's signature grip on the finish to keep it lively alongside food
What to eat with it
This is a wine made for autumn tables. That grip on the finish isn't there to show off: tannin and acidity cut through richness, which is why Aglianico comes alive with food.
• Sunday roast lamb, studded with rosemary and garlic
• A slow-cooked Neapolitan ragù, the Sunday sauce of Campania, simmered for hours with whole cuts of meat
• Mushroom risotto, or anything with porcini
• A plate of aged cheese, such as a mature pecorino or aged provolone
Serve it just below room temperature, around 16°C. If your kitchen is warm, 20 minutes in the fridge does the trick, and opening it half an hour before dinner gives the fruit a chance to open up.
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Mastro Aglianico, Campania IGT 2022 £14.95 Ten generations. Volcanic soils. Italy's great southern grape. |
