Taurasi, Pietracupa

Taurasi, PietracupaWinemaker Sabbino Loffredo has been perfect his white wine craft since the early 2000s and at the turn of the next decade, then decided to turn his hand to the noble red wine of the Campania region, Taurasi. Made from the tricky Aglianico grape, this powerful wine can be difficult to tame, and it can take a long time to perfect. Year on year Pietracupa show us that their dedication to this beautiful, volcanic land around the town of Avellino yields

Winemaker Sabbino Loffredo has been perfect his white wine craft since the early 2000s and at the turn of the next decade, then decided to turn his hand to the noble red wine of the Campania region, Taurasi. Made from the tricky Aglianico grape, this powerful wine can be difficult to tame, and it can take a long time to perfect. Year-on-year Pietracupa show us that their dedication to this beautiful, volcanic land around the town of Avellino yields truly amazing wines. The Pietracupa Taurasi is the essence of elegant power, Sabbino Loffredo manages to lasso this wild grape and craft a wine that erupts with notes of blackberry, dark cherries, wild violets, heather, dried sage, leather and earth. The palate is silky, earthy, bright yet mineral with mystical notes of stewing berries with some dark spice and a steely backbone. A super acidity carries the intense fruit flavours and the dusty like minerality lingers with the berry notes and a smoky hint. This is a serious(ly good) wine to be opened in advance and enjoyed slowly towards the end of a meal, with some slow cooked red meat or alongside hard, mature cheese.

Age-worthy and sometimes referred to as the southern Barolo, the Pietracupa Taurasi spends 2 years in large oak barrels and then three years in bottle before its release. The firm tannins and austere nature of the grape means that it often doesn’t express the fruit best until after several years. Pietracupa’s vineyards are situated at alititudes of between 300-500m above sea level in the Irpinia area of Campania. The soil composition, which includes volcanic deposits, is perfect for the optimum ripening of the Aglianico grape which has notoriously tough tannins!