“Clelia” Fiano di Avellino DOCG 2021

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

13040321 · 0,75 l · 65,33 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available

There comes a moment in the history of every small winery when it stops having to prove itself – and begins to remember. Clelia Romano started out in Arianello di Lapio in 1994, with just a few hectares and one firm belief: that Fiano, grown on these volcanic calcareous marl soils, at altitudes of between 480 and 620 metres, in the Apennine hills of Irpinia, could be one of Italy's great white wines. The critics proved her right – swiftly and unequivocally. Today, she runs the estate together with her daughter Carmela. The wine, which bears the founder's name, is a testament to both generations.

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

An intense straw-yellow colour with golden highlights. The bouquet offers ripe yellow fruit – peach, apricot, pear – alongside hazelnut, walnut skin, lime blossom and a hint of volcanic rock: complex, expressive, with a depth that unfolds in layers. On the palate, it is both lively and full-bodied, with that vibrant acidity that makes Fiano di Avellino the longest-lived white wine in southern Italy, and a mineral final that never ceases to reveal new dimensions. A wine that bears its name – and deserves it. SUPERIORE.DE

"The Fiano di Avellino Romano Clelia 2021 is a very lovely wine with a creamy, slender body and an explosion of various citrus aromas, ranging from mandarins to preserved lemons. Hints of slate and wet rock also emerge. There is a floral note that lies somewhere on the spectrum between verbena and lantana, and the wine coats the palate with its silky intensity. Only around 6,000 bottles were produced." Wine Advocate

"There's a lush quality to the golden apple, white cherry, Marcona almond, lemon oil, lanolin and smoke flavors on display in this creamy white. However, well-cut acidity and a streak of salty minerality bring fine balance and carry the profile on the lightly chalky finish." Wine Spectator

"The remarkably beautiful 2021 Fiano di Avellino Clelia opens with a seductive blend of honeyed blossoms, exotic spices, freshly cut peaches and mint. It has a rich texture and a lovely inner sweetness, which rounds off on the palate with juicy fruit and a hint of candied lime. Its minerality comes to the fore on the finish, as the 2021 lingers long and vividly with a salty note and a hint of raw almonds that linger for a long time. Today, the Clelia is wonderfully complex and yet made for the cellar." Vinous