SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch ventures to the province of Caserta, just north of Naples in Italy’s Campania region, for a little “viticultural archaeology.” The Vestini Campagnano wine estate has devoted itself to the revival of Pallagrello, a grape variety whose roots date to Roman times (if not before).
It’s almost impossible to discuss the wines of Campania without at some point invoking the ancients, so let’s get right to it: The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder listed the region of Falernum, north of Naples, as one of the great wine appellations of his era. The modern-day equivalent is the province of Caserta, home of today’s evocative and powerful white. Although Rome lay further north, Naples is really the cradle of ancient Italian wine civilization, the point of entry for countless grape varieties later diffused throughout the peninsula. The grape in today’s wine, Pallagrello, was essentially lost to history until a local lawyer launched Vestini Campagnano to bring Pallagrello and another ancient variety, Casavecchia, back to commercial life. I love stories like this—Italy has more than its share—and I love it even more when the wine is actually good! Today’s 2016 from Vestini Campagnano had even the avowed Francophile Ian Cauble intrigued; it is a deeply mineral and richly textured wine, reminiscent of terroir-driven whites from Chablis to Santorini. It’s also priced right for exploration, so I urge you to check it out!
This wine carries the designation “Terre del Volturno,” referring to the Volturno River, which flows through the Caserta province out the Mediterranean Sea. This is an IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) designation, which carries fewer prescriptions than a controlled appellation (DOC/AOC/DO, etc.), and in this case, it covers a geographic area roughly equivalent to what was once Falernum. Pallagrello, which has both “green” and “black” versions, was often confused with another classic Campanian variety, Coda di Volpe, but with the help of one of the region’s most prominent viticulturists and professors, Luigi Moio, the Vestini Campagnano team—now headed by Alberto Barletta—have put that to rest. The entire Vestini Campagnano project, launched in 1990, is focused on what Barletta and his partners call “viticultural archaeology,” but the wines are modern in every way: This bottling was fermented and then aged in stainless steel for six months, followed by six more months of bottle aging before release.
Grown in clay-dominated soils mixed with volcanic sands, this Pallagrello Bianco is considerably more textured than Coda di Volpe, but shares some of the latter’s chalky minerality. And although there’s no indication of it in any literature we found, the color of this 2016—a deep yellow-gold with flecks of copper—suggests at least some brief contact with the grape skins during the initial fermentation. The nose is a mix of yellow apple, quince, dried apricot, crushed chalk, dried herbs, a hint of forest floor (like many Campanian whites, there’s a pine-bough green-ness), and a touch of almond skin on the finish. Medium-plus in body, it is deeply mineral and loaded with fresh acidity, lending the wine an intriguing push-pull of viscosity and grip. It is ready to drink now at 50 degrees, and a brief 15-30 minute decant certainly wouldn’t hurt. It has a great salinity/savor for seafood, and had me thinking of something breaded and baked, as in the attached recipe. Take a detour from your established white-wine program and give it a try! — D.L.
