2009 Mastroberardino Aglianico

Mastroberardino is a 900-acre historic estate in southern Italy, in Atripalda. It was founded in 1878 by Angelo Mastroberardino and it today is still run by members of the family. In southern Italy the estate is revered for having long championed the indigenous grapes of the region, particularly Aglianico. The estate’s most famous wine is the Taurasi made entirely of Aglianico. But Mastroberardino makes a large portfolio of red and white wines, including Falanghina, Greco di Tufo and many more. Some 2.5 million bottles are produced annually. Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading wine journal, notes that “it is simply not possible to describe the past two centuries of winemaking in Campania without mentioning the great Mastroberardino family.”

Campania is on the southeastern coast of Italy, and the city of Naples is its commercial and cultural capital. Wine has always been produced in this hard-scrabble region, though the quality of those wines has traditionally not matched the wine quality elsewhere in Italy. Rich volcanic soils mean that the region easily grows everything from citrus and artichokes to nuts, and growing wine grapes has not been a priority historically. However in the last couple of decades forward-thinking producers and vineyard owners have focused on improving both their wines and Campania’s winemaking reputation, and the results are noteworthy. Campania was awarded its first DOCG appellation in 1991. It is the Taurasi DOCG, which grows primarily Aglianico, a native grape that can produce big, concentrated, complex red wines with layers of earthy flavors. There are 101,000 acres of vineyards in Campania, making it Italy’s ninth largest wine producing region, though only 2.8% of those vineyards are in DOC appellations. Nevertheless several excellent large producers and numerous boutique producers are now crafting well-reviewed red and white wines, all mostly from indigenous grapes. Besides Aglianico, the other most frequently planted red wine grapes are Coda de Volpe and Pedirosso. White grapes planted are Falanghina, Fiano and Greco. There are 18 DOCs in Campania.