Basilicata

This is made from the Aglianico grape in the arch of the boot in Italy.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep with black cherries, plums, spice, char and slight anise.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Well balance.  Nice texture.  On the palate, this is tasty with black cherries and plums over some spice and smoke.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work very well with most foods (not seafood).  It went great with a Margherita Pizza.  Drink over the next eight to fifteen years.  

Italy has so many great women winemaker's and this is another one.  Made from the Aglianico grape in Italy's boot.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, forest floor and slight spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance and acidity.  On the palate, nice texture.  Flavors of black cherries, chocolate, spice and slight earthiness.  Great finish.  This is great on its own but even better with food.  It would work well with Pasta with Beef but also a Cheesy Pizza.  Drink over the next six to ten years.  

From the arch of Italy's boot, some of the best Aglianico wines come from here.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, char and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium to firm tannins.  Great balance and acidity.  On the palate, this is drinking well now.  Flavors of  black raspberries and black cherries with underlying char.  Long finish.  This is great on its own but better with food.  Almost anything grilled.  It would work well with grilled squash.  Drink over the nexxt five to eight years.  

This is 100% Aglianico from Basilicata (the arch of the boot) in southern Italy.  Don Anselmo is the grandfather of the current owners and the person who started the winery.  This is their top bottling.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great.  Black cherries, cherries, balsamic, spice and leather.  Full bodied.  Tannins are present but mostly integrated.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is delicious with black cherry fruit, tobacco, forest floor, dust and slight char.  Long finish.  Complex and deep.  This drinks great on its own but really needs food.  This would work

This is the entry level wine of Paternoster, one of the top producers in the "arch of the boot".  Although this is showing some age, their top bottlings are still quite young as Aglianico is a grape that ages quite well.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, wild thyme and char.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this seems fully mature.  Cherry and dried cherry fruit.  Moderate finish.  It needs some food.  A great choice for mid-week Pizza.  Drink up.

Southern Italy is a great source of value in wine.  This one is from the arch in the foot of the boot - a region called Basilicata.  The predominant feature on the landscape is Mt.

Aglianico can be a diverse grape, but the ones made in Vulture (the arch of the boot), tend to be excellent values.  Purple in color with a ruby rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with plums, black cherries, cocoa powder, and spice.  Full bodied.   Firm tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is young but drinking well.  Plenty of black cherries and plums with some underlying char.  Good finish.  Very nice on its own, this will go well with the right foods.  Think bigger meat or fowl dishes and it can handle some spice.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  Plenty

This is made from the Aglianico grape in Basilicata (the arch of the boot), Italy.  15% abv.  Purple in color with garnet swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, anise, smoke and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Moderate acidity.  On the palate, black cherries, cherry liqueur, slight bitter cherry note and spice.  Long finish.  At age 6, this still seems young as it improved greatly when tasting it on day 2.  This drinks well on its own and will work well with food.  A nice wine with a hearty Lasagna.  Drink over the next ten years.  

Really a great wine from an underappreciated region and winemaker (Elena Fucci).  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep and concentrated with black raspberries, floral notes, roasted herbs and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with underlying smoke and spice.  Delicious.  Good balance.  Moderate but enough acidity.  Good finish.  This drinks great on its own but will work well with foods (especially fatty foods).  Roast brisket would be a nice choice.  It is still young but is drinking well especially with some air.  it should drink well f

This is made in the "arch" of the boot in southern Italy utlizing a similar method as Amarone.  The grapes are dried out on straw mats prior to being crushed, but the wine is fermented (mostly) dry.  This is a big fruity and ripe wine that even at age 12, is young.  Purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, cherries, tobacco, roasted herbs, anise and smoke.  Full bodied.  Dry.  On the palate flavors of black raspberries, black cherries over burnt forest floor.  Great texture.  Complex and layered depth.  Good acidity.