“Clelia” Fiano di Avellino DOCG 2021 · 6 bottles in OWC

Colli di Lapio | Campania
Az. Agr. Romano Clelia | Corso da Arianiello 47 | IT 83030 Lapio

13040421 · 4,5 l · 67,56 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping2 units available

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.

Vigna Clelia is plot no. 349 – at 620 metres above sea level, is the highest site in the entire Arianiello-Lapio area within the Fiano di Avellino DOCG. Here the summer is shorter, the nights cooler and ripening is slower and deeper. The grapes are harvested by hand at the end of October – late, when the Fiano berries on the vine have already undergone a slight appassimento, which increases the aromatic concentration without sacrificing freshness. What follows is absolute restraint in the cellar: long ageing on the fine lees in steel, which brings out the territorial depth. Bottled only before the next harvest, followed by a further twelve months in the bottle. 2021 was a year of rare elegance at Irpinia – humid spring, dry summer with a pronounced Bora coolness from the Apennines, a long, golden autumn. All conditions that give Fiano what it is famous for: tension, longevity, depth.

Intense straw yellow with golden reflections. Ripe yellow fruit on the nose – peach, apricot, pear –hazelnut, walnut skin, lime blossom and a hint of volcanic stone: complex, expressive, with a depth that is layered. Lively and full-bodied on the palate, with the vibrant acidity that makes Fiano di Avellino the longest-lived white wine in southern Italy, and a mineral final that never stops talking. A wine that bears its name – and deserves it. SUPERIORE.DE

"The Fiano di Avellino Romano Clelia 2021 is a very pretty wine with a creamy, lean body and an explosion of different citrus flavours, from mandarin oranges to preserved lemons. Slate and wet stone also appear. There is a floral note somewhere on the verbena or lantana spectrum, and the wine coats the palate with its silky intensity. Only around 6,000 bottles were produced." Wine Advocate

"The remarkably beautiful 2021 Fiano di Avellino Clelia opens with a tantalising blend of honeyed flowers, exotic spices, freshly cut peaches and mint. It has a deep texture and a beautiful inner sweetness that rounds out on the palate with juicy fruit and a hint of candied lime. Its minerality comes through on the finish, when the 2021 finishes long and colourful with a salty note and a hint of raw almonds that linger. Today, the Clelia is wonderfully complex and yet made for the cellar." Vinous