Grape variety
Aglianico
Aglianico, southern Italy’s great red grape: Taurasi, Aglianico del Vulture, its origin, character, regions and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Southern Italy (Campania, Basilicata); parents unknown, Greek origin not proven
- Main regions
- Campania (Taurasi, Taburno), Basilicata (Vulture); about 10,000 hectares
- Typical aromas
- Plum, black cherry, dark chocolate, tobacco; firm tannins, high acidity
- Classic pairing
- Lamb, braised dishes, ragù, aged pecorino
- Great names
- Taurasi DOCG, Aglianico del Vulture (Superiore DOCG), Aglianico del Taburno DOCG
Aglianico is the great red grape of southern Italy and, for many connoisseurs, the counterpart of the north’s Nebbiolo. It covers about 10,000 hectares, the great majority of them in Campania and Basilicata. Its name is disputed: a common explanation traces it to “vitis hellenica”, the Greek vine, supposedly brought to the Campanian coast by settlers. DNA does not support a Greek origin; its parents are unknown, which points rather to an old native variety of the south. The Campanian Aglianicone is not a mutation but a distinct, closely related variety.
Aglianico is a late ripener. The vine buds early, likes dry, sunny sites and ripens so late that in some years picking runs into November. Picked too early or cropped too heavily, it gives a hard, harsh wine; fully ripe, it is dark and dense and carried by high acidity, with firm tannins that soften only with the years. Outside Italy there are only small plantings, for example in Australia and California.
The most famous wine is Taurasi, from the hills around the village of Taurasi in the province of Avellino in Campania, a DOC since 1970 and a DOCG since 1993. The vines stand at roughly 400 to 500 metres, on fewer than 500 hectares in all. It must contain at least 85 per cent Aglianico and age three years, at least one of them in wood; the Riserva needs four years, 18 months of them in wood. Good Taurasi is built for long cellaring and is often called the “Barolo of the south”. Falerno del Massico, in the province of Caserta, also rests mainly on Aglianico. In Basilicata, Aglianico del Vulture grows on Monte Vulture, an extinct volcano, on volcanic soils; as a Superiore it is a DOCG, 100 per cent Aglianico, with at least three years of ageing, the Riserva five. Aglianico del Taburno, from the area of Monte Taburno near Benevento, has been a DOCG since 2011.
Tannin and acidity call for fat and protein: grilled or roast lamb, braised dishes, ragù and aged pecorino are the classic companions. Young Taurasi needs time; decant it and serve it at 16 to 18 degrees.