Grifalco, Damaschito, Aglianico Del Vulture superiore

The wine Damaschito from the DOCG area Agianico Del Vulture Superiore is from the producer Grifalco in Basilicata in Italy. The wine is made from 100% Aglianico grapes and the vntage is 2015. Basilicata is an unnown region region in the south of Italy and Vulture is an extinct volcano in that area. Around the volcano a lot of good Aglianico grapes are grown.

Grifalco was funded in 2004 by Fabrizio Piccin and Cecilia Naldoni after they tired of Tuscany and moved to Basilicata. Today it is the sons Lorenzo and Andrea who runs the business. The grapes for this wine comes from the place Maschito and the vines are about 80 years old. Altitude is 580 meters above sea level.  Fermentation takes place with a temperature that never exceeds 28 degrees, followed by a period of maceration on the skins that reaches and pass the 60 days in which the malolactic fermentation takes place. It ages in Slavonian oak for the next 12/18 months. Then it is aged in bottles for at least 12 months.

This is a strong wine  with a taste of black currant, leather, plum and strong tannins. It needs time to open up so open the wine at least one hour before consumption. This is a wine which can be easily stored for at least ten more years and I think that 4-5 more years of ageing will bring out the best of this wine. Now it is very good but give it 3 more years and it will be excellent.

Three red wines from Italy

 First up is the wine Rånäs Slott Barbera 2018. Rånäs Slott is a conference center situated in an old mansion in Sweden. So it is not  brand name as they also name the producer of the wine on the bottles. The producer is Ricossa in Piemonte. 60% of the grapes have been stored in oak barrels so this wine could be quite fruity. The taste is of red cherry and blackberry This is a fruit delight with a lot of fruits. A very good Barbera.

The next wine is the wine Gricos from producer Grifalco in Basilicata. This is a new vintage from 2018 and is made from 100% Aglianico grapes. A fruity red wine with a taste of red cherry and black currant with a hint of plum and earthy notes. Very good.

The last wine is a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo called Tertulia from the producer Guiseppi Savini. In the taste dark fruits such as plum with a hint of violet and acidity. Very nice.

Gricos, Aglianico Del Vulture from Basilicata

Gricos is a red wine from the Aglianico Del Vulture area in Basilicata and the producer is Gricfalco, which is is a produer i Basilicata. The Grifalco company was founded in 2004 by the Fabrizio and Cecilia Piccin after having been a wine producer in Montepulciano, Tuscany, for 20 years. They wanted to forge a new path and start producing Aglianico wines in Basilicata. Thi project is run by their sons Lorenzo and Andrea. Grifalco has 16 hectars of vineyards with different age of the vines. They have five different vineyards around the extinct volcano Vulture in the wine area called Aglinico del Vulture. 

The grape that Grifalco is focusing on is the Aglianico grape. Which is one of the best red wine grapes of southern Italy which requires a long ripening time with an harvest in early November. They produce only wines using the Aglianico grape, no other grapes. Currently for red wines and one rose is produced using the Aglianico grape. The wine Gricos is a basic Aglianico and is normally produced using the grapes of the youngest vines coming from Venosa, Maschito and Forenza vineyards. They produce 40000 bottles per year of this wine. The altitude of the vineyards are at 450-550 meters a.s.l. The wine is fermented in steel tanks and then aged in reused American oak barrels and French oak barriques. The vintage is 2017 and the ABV is 13%.

On the nose I get black and red currants. In the taste plum, black currants and some tannins. This is a good wine and I believe that with 2-3 more years of ageing this wine will be even better and more complex. Works very well with food.

Basilisco, Teodosio Aglianico Del Vulture

With this review I will start looking into the wines from Feudi di San Gregorio. But first we have the producer Basilisco In Basilicata that is owned by Feudi di San Gregorio. Basilicata is not a famous wine region and finding wines from there in Sweden is rare. Basilisco was founded in early 1990 and from 2011 it is run by the Campania producer Feudi di San Gregorio. 

The wine Teodosio Aglianico del Vulture is named after an Roman emperor and the name Basilisco means little king in Greek The Vulture is an extinct volcano in Basilicata. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13%. It is made from 100% Aglianico grapes that is grown at 500 meters above sea level near Barile in Basilicata province of Italy. The wine is aged for 10-12 months in French oak barriques. The taste is quite strong, I get oak, black currants, sour cherry and some plum. Quite tight at the beginning and it almost feels like a 15% ABV wine. This wine needs some air to open up an is quite dry, because of the tannins. Good to drink now but I think 2-3 more years of ageing will bring out some more complexity.