2018 Aglianico Terra d’Eclano

"While working through the new releases from Quintodecimo, I came to realize that I hadn’t actually tasted a mature bottle of Prof. Luigi Moio’s Taurasi. While thinking hard about the vintages I’ve experienced and how I believe they’ll progress over time, I thought it prudent to seek out some wines that Moio believed were starting to show some maturity. Amazingly enough, only a couple of weeks later, a bottle each of 2009, 2012 and 2014 Vigna Quintodecimo arrived at the office. What I’m very happy to report is that they all overperformed, in the context of each vintage. The cold and rainy 2014 vintage showed wonderful freshness, depth of fruit and the easy-going character you’d expect. The warm 2012 vintage was a model of class and balance, while the sunny yet cool-toned 2009 (yes, 2009 was actually a better vintage for Campania reds) was classic and sleek with depths of character, and in a beautiful place for drinking now and over the coming years.

The Quintodecimo winery is located in the mountainous heart of Irpinia within the Taurasi growing area. The vineyards span from 400 meters above sea level in Mirabella Eclano, to Tufo and, finally, Lapio, at 600 meters above sea level. The project was established in 2001 by Prof. Luigi Moio who, in his spare time, is also one of the leading consulting enologists working in the south of Italy, and a specialist on the native varieties and terroirs of Campania. Quintodecimo, however, is his pride and joy, as well as the place where he can be free to experiment on and perfect his own wines. From the vine-by-vine and organic practices followed in the vineyards, to the nearly-clinical cleanliness and precision in the cellar, down to the hand-tailored packaging that the wines arrive in; nothing at this estate is taken lightly. Luigi Moio sees his style as one that crosses the finesse and elegance of Burgundy with the power of Bordeaux, and I can’t argue with that. Yet somehow, he accomplishes this while maintaining a core of varietal purity at the heart of each of his wines. The portfolio spans all of Campania’s most well-known varieties; Fiano (Exultet), Greco (Jaune d'Arles), Falanghina (Via del Campo), Aglianico (Terra d’Eclano, a multi-vineyard expression), as well as his two single-vineyard Taurasi (Vigna Grande Cerzito and Vigna Quintodecimo). The most impressive thing about this range from year to year is how it manages to blend power and richness with purity and elegance. In nearly every vintage, the wines possess an early appeal; yet each and every one of them, both red and white, have the capacity to last and excel through cellaring. The current releases span from the exuberant yet impeccably balanced 2019 whites to the utterly classic 2016 Taurasi, with the delectable and more easy-going 2018 Aglianico fitting in between them. In the end, these are far from cheap, slightly international in style, yet impossible to ignore, and some of the best wines being made in Campania today. "