Luigi Moio makes this at Quintodecimo, on the hills around Mirabella Eclano in Irpinia, the inland Campania province where Aglianico ripens later and slower than almost anywhere else in the south. The magnum here is 1.5 litres of the 2016.
- Aglianico, the grape of Campania's inland hills.
- Irpinia DOC, Campania, southern Italy.
- 2016 vintage, a strong year in Irpinia.
- Full body, high tannin, high acidity, dry.
- 14% abv, in magnum.
How it is made
Aglianico is a thick-skinned, late-ripening variety, and Irpinia gives it the diurnal shift it needs: warm days, cool nights, a long hang time. The DOC covers the hills around Avellino, and the grape is the only red permitted in the appellation's Aglianico bottlings. Terra D'Eclano is Quintodecimo's own vineyard site, and the wine is raised in a mix of barrique and larger oak.
How it tastes
Black cherry at the centre, then dried herbs, leather and smoke. The tannins are firm and grainy, the acidity high, and the two together hold the fruit in place rather than letting it spread. It is dry, full in the mouth, and it finishes long and savoury. In magnum the wine develops more slowly, so the structure stays more intact for longer.
Where it comes from
Irpinia is the mountainous interior of Campania, east of Naples, a landscape of chestnut woods, clay and limestone, and villages rebuilt after the 1980 earthquake. Aglianico has been grown here for centuries, and the province also holds Taurasi, the appellation that made the grape's reputation outside Italy.
Good to know
Aglianico is often called the Barolo of the south, on the strength of its tannin and its ability to age rather than any family resemblance. Taurasi must be aged at least three years before release, one of them in wood, which tells you what the region expects of this grape.
