Luigi Tecce "Calipso" Rosato, Campania, Italy 2020

FROM PORTOVINO:

THE WINE: 100% Aglianico from 20-year-old vines. Native yeast with spontaneous fermentation. Hand-picked grapes are directly pressed. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. Élevage for 12 months in stainless steel and 12 months in bottle.

THE PRODUCER: A visit to Luigi Tecce can get you emotional. Luigi himself is a ball of them, and his Aglianico from Taurasi elicits them. His grandfather’s masseria farmhouse and vineyards are located in the Taurasi subzone known as Sud-Alta Valle (South-High Valley). It’s one of Taurasi’s high-altitude growing areas, having a soil that’s layered with sand, limestone and Vesuvius’ pumice; it’s also the dwelling of Luigi’s 80+ year old vine-trees. There’s no enologist and no agronomist, Luigi works in relative solitude. Maybe that’s why there’s such an affinity between him and the wines: exuberant and guarded, archaic and immediate, literary and literal; there’s something theatrical in their pleasure. The wines come from the tradition and grandeur of Mastroberardino’s Taurasi bottlings, but I feel Luigi’s one of a very limited group of Taurasi producers that are eclipsing the old master.