Campania 2018: Early Appeal And Accessibility

BY IAN D'AGATA | NOVEMBER 19, 2019 

Readers who have followed my writings over the years know I am a huge fan of Campania. The whites are some of Italy’s greatest and most ageworthy wines. The best Campania whites are terroir-driven and full of varietal character. With some notable exceptions, Campania's red wines are unfortunately less consistent because of the combination of overripe grapes and too much oak. For that reason, it pays to be especially selective when it comes to the reds.

A prime example of a Campanian vineyard scene in Taurasi

Of course, it all begins with the grape varieties, and Campania is blessed with a veritable treasure trove of cultivars with very fine potential. In fact, apart from Piedmont, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Valle d’Aosta, there is no other region in Italy that boasts as many potentially world-class varieties: Aglianico, Fiano and Coda di Volpe Bianca lead the pack, but improved viticulture and winemaking have helped reveal the underlying potential of other grapes too, such as Biancolella, Caprettone, Falanghina Beneventana, Falanghina Flegrea, Fenile, Forastera, Ginestra, Greco, Pallagrello Bianco, Pallagrello Nero, Piedirosso, Ripoli, Roviello and Tintore di Tramonti. Most importantly, the improvement in viticulture and winemaking techniques at most of Campania’s estates over the last 30 years is well demonstrated by the higher quality of wines made today with the difficult Greco and Piedirosso varieties. (Despite their fame in Italian circles, these were for the longest time, by world-class standards, often very underwhelming.) Furthermore, some of Campania’s red wines (often made from vines that are partly as much as 100 years old) rank with the best from Piedmont, Bolgheri, Chianti Classico and Montalcino. Try wines made by the likes of Cantine Lonardo/Contrade di Taurasi, Guastaferro and Salvatore Molettieri. You won’t be disappointed.