Aglianico
The Aglianico is a grape variety that gives robust red wines which combine a relatively high alcoholic grade, strong tannins and high acidity and, therefore, have excellent potential for aging.
Its name is a corruption of the word “Helleniko”, as it has come down to us through its long journey in time and its relocation from the ancient Greek vineyards to the colonized Italian south.
The Enology Professor at the University of Bordeaux Denis Dubourdieu notes that “it might be the wine with the longest consumption history of all”, while Pliny the Elder in his rich historical texts informs us that it was one of the ingredients of Fallernian, the most renowned and prized Roman wine. Nowadays it is mostly cultivated in the provinces of Campania and Basilicata, producing the Certified Designation of Origin (D.O.C.G.) varietal wines Taurasi and Aglianico del Vulture.
The vines thrive in hot and dry climates, they are highly productive, and the variety tends to ripen late, with harvests as late as November in some areas of southern Italy. The grapes are tightly clustered and thick-skinned, which makes them particularly resilient to infestations that follow early autumn rainfalls.
The Aglianico wines tend to be well structured, with full body, rich in tannins and high acidity, elements that offer excellent aging potential. The new wines are rather difficult to approach, due to the hard and tight tannins and aggressive acidity, yet modern wine-making techniques have yielded quite remarkable wine specimens which can be consumed fresh. The true ally of this variety, however, is time, which has a beneficial effect on its structure and characteristics.
Regarding its color, Aglianico is close to the right end of the relevant scale, giving deep red wines of high chromatic intensity. Its aromatic profile is dominated by black fruits of the forest, peach, wild strawberry, tobacco, leather, dark chocolate, black truffle, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, ash, cedar, licorice, dried roses.
