Joaquin

Characterised by majestic green forests on the southern foothills of the Apennines, the Irpinia wine region in the province of Avellino is one of the most fertile areas of Campania. The dream of reviving the quality viticulture that once prevailed here is what motivated Raffaele Pagano to found his Joaquin winery. Since 1999, the winemaker has been producing remarkable top-quality wines in the small village of Montefalcione, with which he has once again drawn the attention of the international wine scene to this unique region.

Raffaele tells us that the name of the winery Joaquin is a tribute to the Bourbons - the royal family that ruled Sicily during the reign of the two. The winery owner has an eloquence that is very typical of people from Campania and prefers to explain his concept to every wine lover in person. For the winemaker, each vintage is a new project and thus a new, unique wine, in which the characteristics of the terroir - i.e. climate, soil, grape variety and working methods - should absolutely come into their own.

To maximise the expressiveness of the local grape varieties, he divided his five hectares of land into small, separate plots, which have always been processed separately in the cellar. The grapes for his Fiano white wine, with its iconic orange label, are harvested in the area of Lapio, one of the highest points of Irpinia, while the Aglianico vines, some of which have even survived the phylloxera plague, thrive on calcareous and clayey soils near the town of Paternopoli. From the ancient Aglianico, Raffaele presses the magnificent red wine "I Viaggiatori" and, in outstanding years, the velvety Taurasi Riserva "Della Società".

The small team of the winery has been trained since the beginning by the talented OenologistSergio Romano and Maurizio De Simone. The fact that the wines from the Joaquin house are able to bring out the special characteristics of the vintage so clearly is mainly due to the fact that the grapes from each parcel are fermented separately in small steel tanks. The wines are then matured in locally made tonneaux barrels made of chestnut or acacia oak. Thus, no barriques are deliberately used for this classic style of wine because, according to Raffaele, the typical aromas of the grape variety should in no way be drowned out by aggressive wood notes.

Joaquin's delicious tasting red and white wines delight with their complex flavour profile, which is anything but uniform and monotonous. Such an artisanal character and enormous ageing potential is something that only true top producers can offer. For this reason, it is not surprising that unfortunately far too few bottles are bottled every year - of which we were, of course, able to get hold of a few for you. SUPERIORE.DE