Taurasi

The rules call Aglianico a very old grape, probably from Greece, brought to Italy around the seventh or sixth century BC; the origin of its name, from Elea or from 'Ellenico', is uncertain. The wine is named after Taurasia, a market and assembly place of the Hirpini that the Romans destroyed in 268 BC; Livy wrote of 'Taurasia of the rich vines'. The rules cite a document of 1167 as the first to call the local vine 'Aglianica'.

In the nineteenth century the province's wine, more than a million hectolitres, was widely exported, and a 'wine railway' with stations at Taurasi and Lapio linked the vineyards to Italian and French markets. Francesco De Sanctis founded the agricultural school of Avellino in 1878. The rules name the Mastroberardino family's 1968 vintage as a reference point. The DOC came by decree of 26 March 1970, for Taurasi and fifteen other communes, and the DOCG in 1993.

The zone covers seventeen communes, from Taurasi and Bonito to Montemarano and Venticano, on the hills of the Calore valley. Using the Geological Survey of Italy sheets 174 and 186, the rules divide the substrate into three sectors: in the west, varicoloured clays and calcarenites, with Campanian Ignimbrite at Torre le Nocelle; in the east, polygenic conglomerates with sandy layers at Luogosano and Paternopoli and weakly cemented sandstones at Montemarano and Castelfranci; in the north-east, sandstones and sandy clays at Bonito and weathered volcanic material at Sant'Angelo all'Esca. At Taurasi the clays are covered by ash and lapilli. The soils are young and rich in clay and lime, from deep, well-drained soils on ash and pumice to compact calcareous clays rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium.

The vineyards lie on hills at 400-700 m, mostly facing south-east to south-west. Winters are cold and often snowy, summers mild, with strong day-night swings in July-September and spring frosts. Over 70% of the rain falls in autumn and winter.

The rules credit the high clay content with steady ripening and well-kept acidity through summer drought, and the richness in potassium and magnesium with intense aromas, good structure and balance. The inland climate, with marked swings and night breezes from the north-east, ripens the grapes gradually, balancing sugar and acidity. At release Taurasi is intense ruby, turning garnet and then orange-tinged with age, with a characteristic, ethereal scent and a dry, full, harmonious taste. The rules sum it up as a wine with structure, elegant and austere but balanced, tannic, closed when young and suited to very long ageing, with marked minerality, good alcohol, body and fullness.

Taurasi is made from Aglianico, with other non-aromatic red grapes suited to the province of Avellino up to 15%. Only hillside vineyards qualify; damp, shaded valley floors are excluded. The wine must age at least three years, one of them in wooden casks; the Riserva needs four years, at least eighteen months in wood, both counted from 1 December of the harvest year. The yield of grapes into wine may not exceed 70% at first racking and 65% after ageing. Bottles must be Bordeaux or Burgundy shaped, of dark glass and closed with cork. The regional profile lists the seventeen communes of the zone.