Fontanelle

Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG

Denomination: Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG

Grapes: Aglianico 100%

Location of vineyard: Barile

Area under vines: 2.6 HA

Exposure and altitude: South, South East. 500 m asl

Soil type: Vulcanic

Training system: Guyot espalier

Fermentation: In steel tanks for about 25 days.

Ageing: 12-month ageing in French oak barrels (1st and 2nd passage).

Organoleptic evaluation: Intense ruby red wine expressing the authentic Aglianico character. Ripe blue and red berries notes blending with echoes of cinnamon and incense. Rich on the palate but then fine in the mouth leaving a sweet spice and liquorice aftertaste.

Serving temperature: 18 °C

Bottles produced annually: 1500

THE AGLIANICO CRUS FROM THE VULTURE REGION: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT
The idea for a project based on company crus arose during the 2011 harvest from a range of factors, one of which was certainly the evident differences we had noticed between our vineyards, especially in terms of the soil.
During those first studies of the characteristics of the vineyards and the different results obtained in wine-making, I felt a growing desire to document these observations through photographs and gathering statistical and analytical data.
The fact that the same species of grape variety – Aglianico – in the same local area – Barile – apparently facing in a similar direction – SE – and with largely similar methods of wine-making could lead to grapes and wines that were so original and different from each other, spurred me to bring the results of these evaluations to the bottle and to share them with others.
In that fantastic year, so excellent and so full of food for thought, our intuitions multiplied and consolidated as we tasted the wines during their development, first in the tanks and then in the wooden barrels, always separating them according to vineyard.
Having finished the wine-making and observation phases, the wines from the individual vineyards were brought together in the two company products as usual: the most interesting selection in terms of expression of local terroir, structure and evolutionary potential, was used for the Basilisco, while the tanks with less complexity and structure and with more pronounced fruit, an expression of the varietal in all its immediacy, were brought together to create the Teodosio.
Starting from 2012, the crus have started to forge a pathway, reinforcing and extending the research we had carried out, and for the first time we decided to go ahead with an exclusive bottling of the small quantity of remarkable quality produced solely from the Storico vineyard grapes.
Since the 2013 vintage, the production of small batches of 1500 bottles per type has involved a further 2 vineyards and we now have 3 company crus.

BASILISCO FONTANELLE
The choice of the youngest of our cru wines came from tastings of the individual vinifications from various vineyards developed for that purpose.
It’s a vineyard of 2.6 hectares and about 15 years old, with lots of small springs, from which we obtain a precise, immediate and intriguing wine. With a production of about 7,000 kilos per hectare, more generous than the company average, the result is a less concentrated grape with a pleasant juiciness and fruitiness. Its exuberance is immediately striking, but it does not lack the characteristic structure and tannins that are so typical of Aglianico.
This is a wine that succeeds in debunking the myth that Aglianico is a harsh, demanding grape, revealing the beauty and spontaneity obtained by releasing the fruit and the territory from the weight of the cultural vision attached to them in the vineyards and the wineries of the late 1990s. No over-ripening of the grapes, a light hand with the extracts and with the use of wood…resulting in a more spontaneous, light-hearted Aglianico.
Deep ruby-red in colour, the wine expresses all the character of Aglianico. Its nose evokes sensations of black and red berries, barely ripe, and sweet spices such as cinnamon and incense. It is rich on first impressions on the palate, but with a refined finish, with lingering notes of sweet spices and liquorice.
In the words of the wine-makers themselves: “Immediate and bragging, like a young man who’s a bit of a big mouth. Sincere and entertaining, it’s a wine to thrill the tastebuds, never dull, and with a delicious elegance.”

Viviana Malafarina