Wines from Campania

Falanghina is experiencing a true renaissance under Luigi Moio. What was long regarded as a "simple" regional grape variety is developing into a white wine of surprising complexity and finesse in the hands of the oenology professor. Via del Campo – named after the characteristic country lanes of Irpinia – represents Moio's vision of a modern interpretation of this indigenous variety. In the vineyards of Lapio, the Falanghina vines grow on calcareous soils with volcanic inclusions, which give the region its mineral character. The vines, which are over forty years old, have adapted perfectly to the terroir and produce concentrated grapes with a pronounced aromatic intensity. The altitude of 450 metres provides the necessary temperature fluctuations that give Falanghina its characteristic balance between strength and elegance.

Giallo d'Arles tells one of the most fascinating stories of Campania's wine culture. The "yellow of Arles" refers to the golden colour that Greco di Tufo takes on when it is fully ripe, but behind this lies Luigi Moio's deep connection to classical education and his vision of a wine that translates the ancient greatness of Greco into modern perfection. Here, where the Greeks recognised two and a half millennia ago that this grape variety finds its highest perfection on the tufa soils of Campania, Moio is writing a new chapter in an ancient success story. The vineyards of Lapio, located in the heart of the Greco di Tufo zone, offer ideal conditions for this demanding grape variety. Here, at an altitude of 400 to 500 metres, the roots of the old Greco vines penetrate the characteristic tufa layers – the volcanic deposits that gave the appellation its name and give the wine its unmistakable mineral character. The extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night, intensified by the altitude, create a beautiful tension between strength and elegance.

A name carries weight when it is the programme. Stilèma – derived from "Stile" and the name Mastroberardino – is not a marketing term, but a commitment. It was Antonio Mastroberardino, known as the "archaeologist of vineyards", who began digging in the early 2000s: experimental projects, selection of pre-phylloxeric clones, revision of all protocols in the vineyard and cellar. His goal was not a new style – it was a return to a lost one. The great white wines of Irpinia from the 1970s and 1980s had a density, a texture, a depth that later decades could not match. Stilèma was not intended to preserve this memory, but to translate it into the present.

The project aims to highlight the link between the vines, the wines and their territorial origins. The Mastroberardino family wants to recreate the style of winemaking of the indigenous grape varieties of Irpinia (Greco, Fiano and Aglianico) that took place between the late 1950s and early 1970s for the Taurasi and between 1970 and 1980 for the two white wines from Irpinia. It is the unmistakable style (the stilèma) of a family that has interpreted the natural heritage of its territory over generations and that today impressively emphasises the genuine character of the terroir, which by no means can be expressed through high concentration and intensity alone.

Bright, powerful ruby colour, aromas of cherry, redcurrant, cocoa and tar. Juicy, spicy and bright, with firm acidity and taut tannins that give it definition and lift to the flavours. Very fresh and precise, persistent and smooth. It has outstanding potential. If you taste the decades-old wines from Mastroberardino (dating back to 1928), it becomes clear: these wines are monumental, immortal or at least for eternity. SUPERIORE.DE

Serpico is the flagship of Feudi di San Gregorio – a large, monumental Aglianico from vines over 150 years old from the legendary single vineyard "Dal Re" in Sorbo Serpico. The vineyard is located on mineral soils of volcanic origin and is cultivated with painstaking manual labour. 2016 was a moderate year, with a cool spring, a perfect ripening phase in late summer and a late, selective harvest in October – ideal conditions for a wine with depth and balance.

The Taurasi 2016 from Pietracupa is a lesson in patience and precision – an Aglianico from high vineyards in Irpinia that only reveals its complex spectrum of flavours after years of ripening. The year 2016 brought ideal conditions: a moderate summer, sufficient rainfall and a long, dry autumn, which allowed a late harvest of healthy, perfectly ripe grapes. Deep dark ruby red in the glass with a garnet-red rim. The nose is multi-layered and rich in detail: black cherry, blackberry, ripe plum, dried violets, tobacco, dark chocolate, graphite and fine spice nuances. It is powerful on the palate, with a firm tannin structure, lively acidity and fruit that is carried by fresh energy despite its maturity. Ageing over many months in large wooden barrels gives the wine depth and harmonious integration of flavours. The finish is long, balsamic and characterised by mineral spice – a Taurasi with great nobility that combines the power of Aglianico with cool precision.

I Viaggiatori is a particularly finely woven Aglianico. Its grapes come from almost 200-year-old open-air vineyards with vines that are already over a hundred years old. The Paternopoli area, one of the highest areas of the Taurasi Valley, lies in the green heart of Irpina. The cool, continental climate here allows the Aglianico to ripen very slowly and thus retain its fresh and extremely elegant profile.

There is a moment in the history of every small winery when it stops trying to prove itself – and begins to remember. Clelia Romano started in Arianello di Lapio in 1994, with a few hectares and one conviction: that Fiano on these volcanic limestone marl soils, between 480 and 620 metres, in the Apennine hills of Irpinia, can be one of the great white wines of Italy. The critics proved her right – quickly and unequivocally. Today she runs the estate together with her daughter Carmela. The wine that bears the name of the founder is the commitment of both generations.

The grapes for the rare Naturalis Historia come from a 50-year-old vineyard located 400 metres above sea level with deep, sandy soils of volcanic origin in Mirabella. Deep, sparkling dark red colour. Redcurrant, sweet spices and aromas of dark plums and red cherries on the nose. Perfectly structured on the palate with well-balanced pressure and a full body that is never broad, but fresh, supple and very agile, leading to a harmonious, long-lasting final. An outstanding Aglianico that is already delicious to drink now, but will also age wonderfully. SUPERIORE.DE

The dark and seductive bouquet opens with blackberry jam, blueberries and peppery floral tones, which are found on the palate together with salty notes and a fine tannin. Its enormously silky texture and the well-dosed concentration of black fruits are accompanied by a remarkable freshness that builds and builds until the endlessly long final. This lively and at the same time incredibly elegant red wine delights on the finish with minty herbs and flowers that could not be more seductive. With increasing years of ageing in the bottle, you can look forward to a few more positive surprises! SUPERIORE.DE

The 30th anniversary vintage – and a Montevetrano that epitomises three decades of pioneering work in its stylistic precision and inner calm. Silvia Imparato has been combining the best of Mediterranean warmth and international finesse in this wine since 1991. 2021 brought ripe, healthy harvest, harvested in cool morning hours to preserve freshness and flavour density. Deep dark ruby with a youthful purple colour. The bouquet opens slowly, almost like a theatre curtain: blackcurrant, cherry, blackberry, fine herbal tones, cedar wood, dark chocolate and a hint of graphite. Superbly balanced on the palate – powerful, but not heavy, with fine-grained tannins and clear, juicy fruit, carried by a lively, perfectly proportioned acidity. Several months of ageing in French barriques adds subtle roasted flavours and depth of flavour without masking the terroir expression. Montevetrano 2021 is an anniversary that does not celebrate loudly, but with timeless elegance – a wine statement that tells a story and at the same time sets standards for the future. SUPERIORE.DE

It all began with friendship and a love of experimentation: in the mid-1980s, when a group of wine lovers led by photographer Silvia Imparato started their first experiments on the family vineyard in the Campania hinterland. One of these friends was Riccardo Cotarella, now one of Italy's most famous Oenologist. In 1991, the first bottle of a wine was produced that would soon go down in history as the "Sassicaia of the South" – a title that Robert Parker awarded it in 1995 and which still resonates today. The winery is located in the Monti Picentini Regional Park near San Cipriano Picentino, just a few kilometres from Salerno. The five hectares of vineyards lie at an altitude of 100 metres in the shadow of a medieval castle, surrounded by oak, chestnut and citrus groves. The medium-textured soil with a high proportion of skeleton, the south-west exposure and the protection of the Picentini mountains create a microclimate in which Mediterranean mildness meets cool nights.

What begins with a seductive bouquet of delicate plums and a hint of mint gains volume and depth as grilled sage and rum-soaked blackcurrants mingle with sweet tobacco and allspice. Its texture is silky and fleshy, accompanied by a nervous acidity, while ripe black cherries and a hint of cranberry sauce create a sweet and sour tension on the palate. The concentration is astonishing, yet the energy remains incredibly high, even if the grippy tannins increase towards the end. Notes of sour citrus fruits, savoury herbs and tart wild berries linger incredibly long in the structured yet remarkably fresh final. Only around 3,000 bottles of this cru are produced and it is a real must-have for all Aglianico lovers! SUPERIORE.DE

Radici (the roots) is the epitome of Taurasi and has been a stylistic benchmark for Aglianico from Irpinia since its introduction in 1986. The grapes come from high-altitude, south to south-west-facing vineyards around Montemarano, whose clay and limestone soils of volcanic origin provide depth, structure and longevity. 2018 was a year in Irpinia with a cool spring, warm summer and a long, dry ripening period until the late harvest in November – a classic progression that favoured elegant tannins and precise fruit. Dense ruby red in the glass with a garnet-red rim. The nose reveals Aglianico in all its complexity: black cherry, plum, violet, sweet tobacco, liquorice, dark chocolate and a fine note of tar and graphite.

Piante a Lapio is a rich and complex white wine produced in small quantities (about 3,000 bottles per vintage) from the grapes of a single vineyard parcel of just under one hectare in the municipality of Boschi in Lapio (AV). It consists of 35-40 year old vines planted on stratified and complex calcareous soils with basaltic subsoil at an altitude of about 550 metres. The vineyard is protected at the back by a namesake forest, which contributes to the vineyard's special microclimatic conditions. Here, in the heart of Irpinia, white wines are produced with great freshness and good acidity levels, which, vinified with the necessary care, can age for over 20 years.

Feudi di San Gregorio's DUBL project was born in 2004 out of an awareness of the great richness of the indigenous vines of the Irpinia region and the desire to open up new horizons for them: as Metodo Classico Spumante or by means of the famous Méthode Champenoise. A consultant was quickly found for this - none other than Anselme Selosse, who is known for his champagnes and his flair for the specialities of the vines and vineyards.

There are houses that ask themselves a single question. Not: What else can we do? But rather: How well can we do one thing? Galardi, at the foot of the extinct Roccamonfina volcano in northern Campania, has been producing exactly one wine since 1994. Just one. Year after year. The location is exceptional: south-west exposure at 500 metres, volcanic soil of silt, clay and rock, rich in mineral salts from two eras of volcanic activity – leucite lava and basalt, superimposed and weathered over hundreds of thousands of years. Chestnut woods, olive groves, underground springs that never dry up, even in dry years. The sea breezes from the Gulf of Gaeta provide natural climate control. 80% Aglianico, 20% Piedirosso – the legitimate natives of this region. Fermentation with skin contact for 20 days, pumping over twice daily, malolactic fermentation in steel, twelve months ageing in French barriques (40% new, 60% second and third passage), then a further twelve months in bottle.

2022 was the year of the drought. Not the first, not the last – but one that told its own story at Roccamonfina. Week after week without rain, soils as yellow as straw under the sun. And yet: the springs in the volcanic rock never dried up. The soil that Galardi works holds water deep beneath the stones, invisible and inexhaustible. Allegra Selvaggi, who runs the estate today, described this vintage with Monet – not the motif, but the air around it. The multicoloured landscape despite the drought. The beauty that arises when a terroir is stronger than the weather.

Pàtrimo is no ordinary southern Italian. Vinified purely from Merlot, this exceptional wine comes from ancient, ungrafted vines that Feudi di San Gregorio once discovered at high altitudes in Irpinia – a viticultural rarity and the foundation of one of Italy's most iconic red wines. Deep dark ruby colour with a violet rim in the glass. The bouquet shows Merlot in an unusual, Mediterranean way: Black cherry, ripe plum, liquorice and rosemary, underpinned by mocha, tobacco leaf, vanilla and graphite. Structured and opulent on the palate, but never overloaded: velvety tannins, extract-rich fruit, dark spice and a hint of balsamic freshness that balances the richness. The long ageing in new French barriques lends the wine noblesse without putting it in uniform.

Feudi's Riserva Piano di Montevergine is only vinified in outstanding years. The wine has a very impressive concentration and great richness in every vintage. Dark and brooding on first impression, it slowly awakens in the glass with a captivating blend of menthol, mint and exotic spices that evolves with a lively note of cinnamon-dusted redcurrant. This velvety-smooth and elegant wine appears heavy at first, but is quickly enlivened by a core of vibrant acidity and zesty citrus notes that embellish the tart black fruits. The tannins on the finish are sweet and chalky, while notes of wild red plum and blood orange keep the tasterer coming back for more. SUPERIORE.DE