Mastroberardino Aglianico d’Irpinia 1998
This wine was a product of my brief fascination with wines made from the aglianico grape. At the time I bought a few bottles of wine and kept them aside for the right moment. This bottle was one of two that I was particularly excited about. This and a bottle of the same Mastroberardino wine from 2003.
Mastroberardino is a producer located in Campania who are most notably famous for two things: their Taurasi DOCG bottling and the fact that they were a beacon of light in a wine-producing region that had come upon hard times for much of the latter part of the 20th century. In particular Mastroberardino is well-known for championing the many varietals indigenous to the region (although only two, aglianico and piedirosso are widely grown). This wine, their Aglianico d’Irpinia, is their basic aglianico offering. It is 100% aglianico, and is aged in botti grandi (large wooden tuns that hold approximately 100 liters).
Right off the bat, this is an interesting wine. It has the color of red velvet, a brownish red with a satiny sheen. That being said, it is a somewhat light-hued wine, the color far from being opaque. The nose has sour cherries and tart raspberries, a hint of astringent fruit preserves, and a dark tone. On the palate, the wine has tart apples, cherries, and liquorice. The finish is medium-length with the liquorice and cherries carrying on through.
What a nice wine! Erin and I both liked this a lot. It’s got nice, light fruit flavor balanced by something earthy and dark. This contrast gives it a great character, both easy drinking and challenging at the same time. It has the kind of character that leaves me guessing at what that hint of flavor is with each different sip.
I can’t wait to try the 2003 version to see how different it is, if at all. My suspicion is that 5 years and a completely different vintage will result in a different wine.
So here’s the question to linger on: having tried two aglianico-based wines in the last couple of weeks, have I found any common themes to this varietal? Common flavors, colors, characteristics? At this point I don’t really think so. This wine and the Grifalco were pretty different from one another. But one similarity was that both spoke of the promise of dark fruits, but delivered something different. The Grifalco had more stolid depth to it, but the Mastroberardino had more nuances and true depth.
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