Campagna

This is a wine from Campania in south/central Italy.  It is made 100% from Aglianico grapes.  Deep purple in color, opaque and bright.  There is a lot of Brettanomyces yeast on the nose giving it a heavy barnyard scent.  This will often be different in different bottles, but given the level in the bottle I had, it will be problematic for some.  I am relatively tolerant of the scent but it made it difficult to get anything else on the nose.  Luckily, it was a bit cleaner on the palate.  Black cherry fruit of an earthiness.  Nice texture.  Good acidity.  Moderate finish.  This will work bette

This was my second time trying this wine.  The first time was on it's own, but this time was in a blind tasting of Sparkling wines (mostly Champagnes) and it did not fare as well.  It showed fine, but was the groups and mine's last place wine.  That could be because it was so different as this is made from Greco di Tufo while most were made from Chardonnay or that it had less acidity than the others.  Blind tasting offers some levels of objectivity and then introduces other prejudices.  Context when drinking wine is very important.  In any event, this is light yellow gold in color.  The nos

Sadly, my last bottle of this was corked.  Below is a review from 2015 of this wine.  

No way, blind, did I think this was 16 years old. Purple/ruby in color. The nose is black cherries, spice and slightly dusty. Juicy acidity on the palate. Lots of ripe black cherry fruit. Medium tannins. delicious.

Taurasi is a grape that generally needs a long time to come around even in the less expensive bottlings.  This one is a step or two above those although it is the base wine for this producer.  A very nice example.  Deep purple in color.  The nose is nice.  Earthy with smoke, anise and plenty of black cherry fruit.  On the palate, this is complex and nice layered with earth, cherries and forest floor notes.  Firm tannins.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  It will work with a wide variety of foods from stews to a steak to a pasta with cream sauce.  If drinking soon, it should be given time to bre

This is absolutely the best sparkling Greco di Tufo I have ever had.  It is also the only one.  Very interesting wine.  Made in the Metodo Classico or the traditional way that Champagne is made.  A fun wine for sure but also a very nice sparkling wine.  Greco di Tufo is the area making white wine from the Greco grape.  Popping the cork, the wine is white/green/gold in color.  There is a nice mousse with small-ish bubbles.  On the nose, there is some nice minerality along with a slight lemon-lime quality.  Those flavors carry thru to the palate along with a salinity.  This is broader and jus

Light medium gold in color.  The nose is chalky with minerality.  Soft texture.  Nice green apples on the palate.  Ok acidity.  Easy drinking and food friendly.  Solid wine.  Nice value for $13.