Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Monday, February 3, 2020 - A blend of Aglianico (80%) and Piedirosso (20%) from vineyards averaging 8 years. Macerated with the skins for 20 days in stainless steel. Aged for 12 months in new Alliers and Nevers oak barriques. 13% alcohol, 5,8 g/l acidity and pH 3,7. Total production 3,000 bottles. Tasted in a Terra di Lavoro 2011-1997 vertical.

Pale, translucent and noticeably developed brick-orange color with an almost colorless rim. Somewhat restrained - even slightly closed - nose with sweet-toned aromas of cherry marmalade, some balsamic VA, light vegetal notes of cooked bell pepper, a hint of bouillon and a chemical touch of hot glue. The wine is medium-to-moderately full-bodied on the palate with developed, dry flavors of cranberries, cooked bell pepper, some crunchy redcurrants, light gamey notes of meat, light sweet nuanced of black cherries, a hint of exotic spice and a rich, tertiary hint of prunes. The wine is wonderfully bright with fresh, high acidity, whereas the tannins feel soft, mellow and fully resolved. The finish is quite long with very gently grippy tannins and developed flavors of ripe cranberries, sour cherry bitterness, some wild strawberries, light pruney tones, a hint of leather and a sweet'n'sour touch of lingonberry jam.

A still fresh but slightly underwhelming vintage of Terra di Lavoro at its plateau of maturity or perhaps slightly past it. The wine is wonderfully high in acidity - perhaps showing the highest acidity of all the vintages we tasted - but otherwise coming across as less impressive than the preceding vintages. The nose is very reticent and offers rather little of anything and while the oak seems to have been integrated fully with the fruit, the overall feel lacks the complexity and intensity of the better vintages. All in all, this is an enjoyable and balanced Campanian red with some age, but lacks the depth and finesse of the best vintages.

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