In my wine-world travels, I regularly encounter articles I wish I’d written and wine I wish I’d made. Today’s wine, created by my friends and colleagues Shelley Lindgren and Jeffrey Porter, is an example of the latter. Which is to say: If I were to create an Italian wine label and make an Aglianico from Monte Vulture in Basilicata, this is exactly the kind of Aglianico del Vulture I would make.
Aglianico is one of Italy’s noblest red wine grapes, and Monte Vulture, an extinct volcano tucked away in a remote, mountainous corner of the Italian south, is where many feel it reaches its greatest heights of expression. Shelley and Jeff, widely known as two of the most prominent Italian-focused sommeliers in the US, created IGNI—referencing ‘igneous,’ or volcanic, rock—to showcase authentic, conscientiously farmed wines from Italy’s greatest volcanic terroirs. They are using the négociant model, partnering with growers they feel epitomize their respective regions; for Basilicata and Aglianico del Vulture, they went to the Piccin family of Grifalco to collaborate on today’s 2015. Sourced from an assortment of high-elevation sites on Vulture and crafted with an eye toward varietal expression above all else, this is a delicious debut from a team that knows what it is doing. If you weren’t an Aglianico drinker before, this one will pull you in, which I think is the point!
As the owner and wine director of A16 and SPQR in San Francisco, Shelley Lindgren planted her wine flag firmly in southern Italy and is arguably the country’s leading expert on its wines. Jeff Porter, meanwhile, has run the wine programs of iconic Italian restaurants such as Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles and Del Posto in New York City. He’s also developing a television show focused on Italian wine, food, and travel. Their shared love of Aglianico del Vulture—often overshadowed by its Campanian neighbor, Taurasi—led to its being the first release in the IGNI lineup. Their primary objective was to present Aglianico in a less extracted, less oak-influenced manner. When these wines first started to get some traction in the US market, in the early 2000s, many were quite massive in scale and slathered with new oak—the fashion of the day. But Aglianico has plenty of natural color, concentration, and tannin, which new oak tends to exacerbate; Jeff and Shelley wanted to emphasize the aromatics and distinctive minerality of the grape, and created a wine that is pleasant, rather than punishing, to drink.
Their collaborators in this noble endeavor were the Piccin family, whose Grifalco estate makes some of the greatest expressions of Aglianico in the zone. I happened upon a description of Grifalco penned by their West Coast importer, Oliver McCrum, which I thought neatly summarized what’s been achieved with the IGNI collaboration: “One of the challenges in making Aglianico del Vulture is making sure that these big reds don't become bitter,” McCrum writes, “and Fabrizio Piccin has done an excellent job of taming the tannins without making the wines glossy or 'international.'”
Sourced from two organically farmed, high-altitude, old-vine Aglianico parcels on Monte Vulture, the IGNI 2015 underwent an ambient-yeast fermentation, during which it spent several weeks on its skins. It was aged in used
tonneaux and
barrique barrels for 12 months before bottling. In the glass, it’s got Aglianico trademark ruby-black hue with purple highlights, with aromas of black plum, mulberry, cassis, licorice, tobacco, damp violets, and pulverized black stones. Whereas Aglianico’s tannins can often be intense when the wine is young, this one’s are firm but fine-grained, and the overall impact of the wine is forceful but not heavy. It’s a medium-bodied Aglianico del Vulture that’s a pleasure to drink, rather than an inky blockbuster designed to fetch gaudy critical scores. In that regard, I guess you could call it a ‘sommelier wine.’ I know this sommelier will be drinking some more very soon: Decant it about 30 minutes before serving in Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. As with all the best Aglianico wines, I get hints of both Northern Rhône Syrah and Cahors Malbec here, and tend to lean towards the same kinds of food pairings: lamb, beef, maybe venison if you’re feeling adventurous. Start with this one and stay tuned for more IGNI releases in the future (as in Etna Rosso, among others). Chances are, we’ll be featuring them!
