2019 Guido Marsella Fiano di Avellino, Italy, Campagna, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$25.00USD

Pale golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has pears with a slight herbal note.  Medium bodied.  Dry.  On the palate, this is refreshing with some depth. Moderate acidity.  The palate has pears, minerals and slight wax.  Moderate finish.  This will work well with lighter foods but a Margherita pizza would work well, too.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

2009 Case d'AltoTaurasi Docg Riserva, Italy, Campagna, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2009
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$80.00USD

This is a serious wine and in a great place right now.  By law, Taurasi Riserva's must be aged in wood for four years prior to release.  They are made from the Aglianico grape.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has plums, char, pine and spice.  Firm tannins.  Lush texture.  This is delicious. On the palate, black raspberry fruit.  Deep.  Long finish.  It seems to be getting close to peak but not there yet.  This should improve a bit over the next five to ten years, and will drink well for fifteen to twenty after that.  No harm drinking today, but give it

2000 Di Meo Fiano di Avellino Selezione Erminia, Italy, Campagna, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2000
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$48.00USD

This is a wine with an interesting story and it was nice to get to try it.  Roberto Di Meo utilized late harvest grapes but fermented it dry.  It was then aged in stainless steel before bottling.  The first release of the wine was in 2014.  The wine has gotten rave reviews from some critics and less so, from others.  It is made from the Fiano di Avellino grape in southern Italy.  Fans should keep an eye out as this is a difficult sell and will occasionally appear on close out sites such as WTSO.  As for this bottle, it bottle 7536/9000.  Light green/gold in color, very light and fresh and h

2012 Lunarossa Borgomastro Colli di Salerno IGT, Italy

Vintage: 
2012
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+

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

NV Calafè Greco di Tufo Kami, Italy, Campagna, Greco di Tufo, Wine Review

Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+

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

2009 Contrade di Taurasi (Cantine Lonardo) Taurasi, Italy, Campania, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2009
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$44.00USD

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

NV Calafè Kami Brut Nature, Italy, Campania, Greco di Tufo DOCG, Wine Review

Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$28.00USD

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

Campagna's White Wines: A Primer on Greco, Fiano, and Falanghina.

As the weather finally begins to get warm, my thoughts again turn to white wines. The southern Italian region of Campagna produces some very good red wines (see my previous articles on Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio and Taurasi ), but they also make a trio of white wines that should be on any wine lover’s radar. The trio of Greco di Tufo (GREK-koh dee TOO-foh), Fiano (fee-AH-noh) and Falanghina (fah-lahn-GEE-nah) are three white grapes and that are being made into admirable wines that should be on any wine lover’s radar. All three of these grapes date back to ancient times and were on the verge of extinction before being saved within the last few decades.

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