Feudi di San Gregorio Taurasi 2021
£24.25
The wine
Fragrant aromas of maraschino cherry and spice are complemented by undertones of vanilla and anise. Full bodied and full of juicy black fruit, the palate is enlivened by a deep minerality through to a savoury note on the finish.
Taurasi is Campania's finest red appellation and is often called the Barolo of the south. Aglianico grown on the volcanic hills around the town ripens as late as November, and the DOCG requires three years of ageing, one of them in wood. The tannins are formidable in youth and the wines reward a decade or more.
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.
