In the USA we like winners. Who is number one? Who is the best? In sports we argue over which four college football teams should be in the playoffs. In figure skating and gymnastics judges make subjective decisions as to who is the best. There are judges of wines that subjectively assign points to rate a wine’s excellence. I do not feel comfortable awarding points or making evaluations on such a subjective basis. I prefer that a contest be subject to a set period of time to determine who is best. But there is no such contest available for evaluating wines. There are many awards of excellence and articles rankings wines, but in the end it is the consumer who decides what he or she prefers. Some people prefer wines that are dry, others prefer fruity, and some prefer oaky. The wine “experts”, however, do not know your particularly taste. So do not fall for tags at wine stores that promote a wine as receiving a score of 90 plus from some wine “expert”.

So you may ask why I am including two articles with links to three others that evaluate and rank wines and producers? It is informative to read others’ views on wines and wineries. You may obtain knowledge of a wine or  winery that you have never heard of. For example, in the second article below I was informed  on Tenuta Fonzone.

This is the first of two posts on  “What is the Best Taurasi and Who is the Best Producer”. In the second post I will link to several Italian rating guides and highlight how these guides have different opinions on which Taurasi wines they consider the best.

The first article is in Italian. To translate to English, first go to the translation bar and hit the “Italian” box. Both the articles will be in Italian. Then hit the “English” button and the first article will translate into English and the second article will return to its original English version.

The first article was published in Il Mattino,  Naples, Italy’s daily newspaper. The second article was published in Swide Magazine. Note for  fans of Antonio Caggiano’s Vigne Macchia dei Goti, his Taurasi wine is listed as number one on Il Mattino’s list of top 2011 Taurasi wines. The Il Mattino article below ranks wines with vintages before 2011.

 

Swide Magazine

Italian Terroirs #5 Taurasi & Top Ten Taurasi Wineries, by Chiara Giovini, October 24, 2015

The names of great wines are almost always related to the places where they are produced, because they are places whose soul emerges from every glass with a distinctive voice. Aglianico, one of Southern Italy’s indigenous red varietals, is experiencing growing success abroad thanks to its ability to combine great power and elegance, and its noblest expression is found in Taurasi. It is a small town in Irpinia, an area that has always been important for agriculture in the province of Avellino, in the heart of Campania, which is in turn a region whose beauty extends far beyond the beautiful city of Naples to Mount Vesuvius and the Amalfi Coast.

Aglianico is an archaic red grape originally from Greece, which apparently owes its name to the ancient city of Elea (Eleanico), a Greek harbour on the Tyrrhenian coast. The first known document that mentions the vine in Taurasi dates back to 1167 AD, and refers to a variety that the Spanish renamed “Aglianico” in their attempt to pronounce Elleanico. The success of this variety has been derived precisely from this localisation, thanks to the volcanic origin of the lands of Campania and Basilicata where it found its true habitat. In 1928, when vineyards throughout Europe were affected by phylloxera and many of the noblest areas of France were destroyed, the sandy volcanic soil characteristic of Taurasi prevented the disease from propagating and saved the wine production. Aglianico is often defined as a petulant vine, because it matures late and has tannins that require a long time to be tamed.

However, it is also greatly appreciated for this same forcefulness when expressed in its most excellent form, as in Taurasi, where a unique microclimate created by a hilly altitude guarantees the grapes freshness so they can transform into aristocratic elegance. For those who have never drunk Aglianico from Taurasi, here are the 10 not to be missed labels of this important designation from Southern Italy.

TAURASI VIGNA CINQUE QUERCE Riserva – Molettieri

It’s only right to start with the wine by Salvatore Molettieri, one of the fathers of Taurasi, which can now also boast of other interesting interpreters. He produced his first vintage in his cellar in Montemarano in 1988, long before DOCG status was assigned to this denomination in 2003. Taurasi Cinque Querce, which takes its name from the vineyard, has become a kind of masterpiece, to which all local viticulture is somehow compared. Its style is severe and powerful as the result of viticulture based on an extreme selection process in the vineyard that ends up with just a few concentrated bunches to produce full-bodied wines with great potential for ageing. His Taurasi Riserva is kept in wood for four years and has a bouquet of cocoa, tobacco and red fruit jam, with a vein of sweet spices that also defines its full-bodied sip, which is powerfully tannic but with great character.

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TAURASI RADICI Riserva – Mastroberardino

The historic company founded in Atripalda in 1978 underwent a renaissance thanks to the work of Antonio Mastroberardino, the person responsible for reinventing Fiano di Avellino, and since his passing his son Pietro has taken the reins of the production. Taurasi “Radici” is a true emblem of Italian viticulture, and is mainly made with grapes from the vineyards of historic properties located in Montemarano. It is an austere Taurasi capable of defying time by offering thrilling emotions in the glasses even after decades have passed. Its bright ruby ​​garnet colour anticipates solar scents of black cherries and sweet cocoa, with balsamic notes that become warm on the palate around delicate tannins, with a supple and persistent sip.

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TAURASI PIANO DI MONTEVERGINE Riserva – Feudi di San Gregorio

The company Feudi di San Gregorio has become an iconic example of how a passionate and serious family can achieve success in oenology without the support of generations of tradition. The Sorbo Serpico cellar, now led by the brilliant young Antonio Capaldo, is a jewel of southern entrepreneurship that draws the best out of the precious land of Irpinia thanks to the skill of a great man within the world of Italian vineyards, Pierpaolo Sirch. As such, after two years of ageing in wood, the Aglianico grapes have a remarkable depth and intensity, and a complex and enveloping stylistic stamp. The spicy aromas combined with plum jam and woody sensations of tobacco anticipate a wine that is dry and slender on the palate, as well as imposing with impressive craftsmanship.

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TAURASI – Perillo

Michele Perillo represents the essence of a small French vigneron who has adapted to Irpinia, and his philosophy is based on the importance of time. Because of this, he releases his wines on the market without haste and without chasing the competition but gaining many wine lover fans. In Castelfranci, a highly specialised area distinguished by old vines and a tradition of ancient techniques, Michele Perillo produces extraordinary wines with great longevity and authenticity that do not cost much but have an inestimable value – that of love for the land and for the vineyard. The Aglianico grapes used for the Taurasi mature in oak barrels for at least four years and are then aged in bottles for a long time. The wine has a very intense aroma of wild strawberries, wild berries, leather, tobacco and pepper, but it is on the palate that reveals its greatness, with an exhilarating boost poised between freshness and tannic elegance that expands the harmony of a wine of enormous potential, even while young.

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TAURASI VIGNA MACCHIA DEI GOTI – Caggiano

This is one of the most beautiful and spectacular cellars of Campania, where amazed visitors walk among tens of thousands of bottles resting in niches between the stone walls. Everywhere you look, there are barrels refining the great Taurasi wines, including Macchia dei Goti. For years, founder Antonio Caggiano was a globetrotting photographer, but he returned to the old family vineyard in 1990. Today the company is run by his son Giuseppe, who learned a rigorous approach to work in the vineyard from his father, helping to establish the style of the family business, which is recognised for the great personality of its Irpinia wines. The Aglianico “Macchia dei Goti” takes its name from the district in which the vineyard is located, and it was the Taurasi that opened the doors to modernity with the introduction of refinement in French oak barrels for over a year. It has a deep ruby ​​colour and fruity aromas of blackberries and cherries with notes of liquorice and vanilla, but when sipped it is both soft and tannic with an intense and compelling body.

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TAURASI POLIPHEMO – Tecce

The eccentricity of his approach has led Luigi Tecce to be considered one of the stars of oenology in Campania, despite him producing very few bottles. The “triple A” imprint on the wines he produces solely from Aglianico grapes in Paternopoli is now unmistakable, as it safeguards the craftsmanship that traces back to rural autarky. Some consider his wines a bit extreme because of the bottles with overripe notes or excessive acidity. This Taurasi is interspersed with hints of black cherry and cocoa with a smoky touch, and the taste on the palate is full-bodied with impressive tannins. Fans of occasionally imperfect biodynamic wines will find this Taurasi Tecce to be their ideal variant.

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TAURASI – Pietracupa

The history of Pietracupa is linked not only to the Irpinia area in Montefredane but also to the key figure of Sabino Loffredo, a symbol of viticulture who became a winemaker with great skill and attention to detail. Although the company is best known for its white wines with extraordinary personality, the technical preparation of Sabino, together with great artisanal sensitivity to the vineyard, gives its impressive results, even with Aglianico grapes. Grown in around one hectare in Torre Le Nocelle, the Taurasi matures for two years in barrels and features a Mediterranean aromatic profile with notes of ripe fruit and smoky nuances. Its biggest surprise is its sip, which is elegant and with a pleasant mineral sensation that streamlines the tannin structure in a full but refined structure.

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TAURASI VIGNA QUINTODECIMO Riserva – Quintodecimo

A small winery located in Mirabella Eclano, led by the “professor” of Irpinia viticulture, Luigi Moio, a lecturer in oenology at University of Naples Federico II. The choice to position it among the most expensive wines of the appellation is certainly a statement of intent, but it is supported by the production, which creates wines of character and strength, and above all great balance. The fragrances of the Taurasi Riserva are a perfect blend of fruity notes of sour cherry, rhubarb and blackberries and the contribution made by refining it in wood for almost two years gives the wine a balsamic and liquorice profile. Its body is full and ample, with dense and deep tannins polished up by an exquisite freshness.

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TAURASI FATICA CONTADINA – Terredora

A large wine producer in Montefusco that gained fame for spreading wine from Campania throughout the world and became synonymous with consistent quality and reliability, thanks to the determination of the Mastroberardino family now represented by Daniela and Paolo, the children of the founder. The Taurasi is an important expression of corporate style and matures for a year and a half in wood to achieve the recognisable complexity of Aglianico grapes. It is a wine characterised by ethereal notes that blend with hints of cassis and blueberry, presenting a sip with delicate tannins that envelope a soft and warm body with good finesse.

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TAURASI SCORZAGALLINE Riserva – Fonzone

A hill of about 30 hectares adorned by geometric vineyards bordered by a forest of oaks and the Fredane and Ifalco streams, restore to winemaking splendour by Lorenzo Fonzone Caccese in 2005. On top of the hill in Contrada Scorzagalline in the municipality of Paternopoli, approximately 430 metres above sea level, the grapes from the Aglianico vineyard of Tenuta Fonzone are selected to produce the Riserva di Taurasi. After a long maceration on the skins and having been aged for four years, including 18 months in new French oak barrels, the wine presents a great structure and an engaging aromatic complexity. The sensual fragrances of carnation flowers and oriental spices are supported by notes of ripe fruit, with raspberries, plums and a smoky touch of ash. Its sip has a considerable extraction of matter and an important tannic structure marked by a good acidic vein that ensures this wine will be able to stay true to itself over time.