Feudi di San Gregorio Rubrato Irpinia Aglianico 2022
£17.25
The wine
An intense, deep wine with a classic Aglianico profile of wild black fruit, cherry, liquorice and spice. Balanced, with soft, well-structured tannins and a long finish reminiscent of fresh fruit and a delicate balsamic note.
Rubrato is Aglianico in its approachable form, from the broader Irpinia appellation and aged only briefly. Aglianico is a late-ripening, thick-skinned grape often picked in November, and it gives serious tannin and acidity even in a young wine; here the aim is to show the fruit rather than the structure.
The producer
Feudi di San Gregorio
View all Feudi di San Gregorio winesFeudi di San Gregorio began in the mid-1980s in Irpinia, the mountainous inland province east of Naples, with a clear aim: to safeguard local tradition and unlock the potential of Campania's own grapes rather than plant international ones.
Those grapes are among the oldest in Italy. Greco and Aglianico were brought by Greek settlers before the Roman period, Fiano was praised in classical texts, and all three had been reduced to obscurity by the twentieth century. Irpinia is the making of them: inland, mountainous and considerably cooler than the coast, with volcanic soils and altitudes up to 700 metres that give acidity and aromatic definition rarely found this far south.
In under thirty years the estate built a reputation for genuinely world-class wine and did much to change how southern Italy was regarded. Taurasi, its Aglianico appellation, is often called the Barolo of the south, and with reason: the grape ripens as late as November and gives tannin and acidity enough to demand years in bottle. Feudi earned B Corporation certification in 2021.
