Tastes from Avellino

“Hmm… let me see what I’ve got from Campania…,” mumbled my local wine seller as he rummaged through his extensive, yet unorganized, collection. “Here are my Taurasis; they’re good… but quite pricey. Oh, here’s one that’s reasonably priced. But unfortunately, it’s crap,” he adds apologetically. “I’ll find you something perfect.”

And indeed he did. The 2005 Irpinia DOC Aglianico Cinque Querce from Salvatore Molettieri was exactly the type of wine I was looking for. A grape I was familiar with from a producer I was not. With 11 hectares of land to his name, Molettieri works among three vineyards. The soil that he works with is known to be well suited for viticulture in southern Italy and his wines don’t disappoint any expectations.

After bringing home my carefully chosen bottle, I didn’t have to think hard about how best to pair this beautiful red with my dinner. I opened up a jar of homemade tomato sauce that I had canned earlier in the season and enjoyed a simple but classic dinner: la pasta al pomodoro e il vino rosso.

This Irpinia Rosso has a complex nose with chocolate aromas. Both the deep color of the wine and the age it carries had me excited to taste it right away, but I allowed it to decant while I finished cooking dinner. High tannins and a medium-full body present themselves right away, while the moderate cherry flavors linger. Dinner turned into dessert, as the wine was just begging to be paired with some dark chocolate I had stashed away… che fortuna!

Described as “practically a young Taurasi,” I feel satisfied to have sampled such a great vino Campano. I can’t wait to make another trip back to the wine shop to see what else the region has to offer!

Related articles

• Finding Fiano Part I (drinkeatlove.com)

• Taurasi Wine Tasting - Episode #977 (tv.winelibrary.com)

• Italian DOCG List Update - 7 New Aspirants (57) (acevola.blogspot.com)