JANUARY WINE BOX: JOURNEY TO THE CILENTO OF WINE: Stop #22, selected by Simone Loguercio, best sommelier in Italy 2018 (January 2020)
Luigi Maffini , Giungano (SA)
“Did you think the wine pioneer in Cilento was a normal person?” This is how Luigi Maffini opens the doors for me. And when you live in the profound belief that making a good wine takes ten years, then wine becomes a lifestyle choice , as it was for him and his wife Raffaella, without which he would not be the great producer he is today. In wine production, time is an ally, even more so when your other great passion is wristwatches. And he continues: “beyond time, to make a good wine you have to sleep in the place where it is produced, because the bond with the territory is indissoluble and has deep roots. Then you also need a bit of luck, and I can say I've had it." Luigi has a fixed idea: the territory . You notice it immediately by looking at his labels, which feature a piece of his beloved Cilento with the image of flysch, a calcareous marl bearing a different, fatty and brackish minerality. The company was founded in 1974 in Giungano, in the middle of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, 18 hectares of vineyards managed according to the dictates of organic viticulture.
Casebianche , Torchiara (SA)
Casebianche was born in 2000 in Torchiara, Cilento, when Elisabetta and Pasquale Mitrano, driven by their hearts, decided to abandon their work as architects to recover the family vineyards and start producing wine . The first years are used to acquire awareness of the potential of the place and to understand what would be the best path to follow. In 2006 the decisive meeting took place with the oenologist Fortunato Sebastiano which led to the first bottling the following year with Cumalé. The company is spread over 14 hectares in the Torchiara area, between Mount Stella, the Acquasanta stream and the sea of Agropoli, where around 5 hectares of vineyards are grown organically among olive, citrus and fig trees, mainly with local grapes such as Aglianico and Fiano. The soils are predominantly clayey with the presence of marl and sandstone better known by the name of "Cilentano flysch". In the vineyards, interventions are limited to the essentials, natural fertilization, copper, sulfur and clay to protect the vine. In addition to organic, Casebianche looks favorably on the principles of biodynamics and for this reason has started an "agrological" program. Winemaking is carried out immediately after the manual harvest of the grapes, with spontaneous fermentations started by indigenous yeasts, fully respecting the raw materials. Casebianche has chosen to enhance two varieties such as Aglianico and Fiano, making them express mainly in purity.
Viticulturists De Conciliis , Prignano Cilento (SA)
“Ours is a story in the making. A light link between past and present. A story that comes from dreams. A story that is a union of affections, friendships and sharing, understandings and misunderstandings..." This is what the three brothers, Paola, Bruno and Luigi, tell me, who combined the professionalism of agronomist, oenologist and administrative/commercial, founding in 1996 the company “Viticoltori De Conciliis”. At the beginning, in their father Alessandro's company, they began to experiment on a small scale, then, on the hills surrounding Agropoli, the production reality completely changed, making this winery one of the flags of the Campania wine renaissance . The passion for native vines pushed them to transform themselves from pioneers of viticulture in Cilento to a point of reference, also thanks to their ability to reinterpret and communicate a territory. This is how the De Conciliis brothers' project was born, born from the link between past and present, from sharing and communication, from the celebration of a land included between the mountains and the sea. Therefore, starting from the approximately twenty hectares of vineyards owned by the company, the wines that the De Conciliis winery offers show themselves as a sincere and coherent expression of the terroir from which they come.
ENTHUSIAST BOX
Denazzano Paestum Rosato, Luigi Maffini
100% Aglianico
Only 5,000 bottles produced. Grapes harvested by hand from the second ten days of September and coming from a single "Cru" vineyard of 1.5 hectares trained in espalier. Destemming, crushing and soft pressing of the grapes. Fermentation for about 30 days in stainless steel, aging in steel. The result is a frank and unstoppably drinkable wine.
Wine with a beautiful cherry pink hue, bewitching and luminous. Refined nose in gentle tones of dog rose, wild cherry and wild strawberry. Compelling and harmonious sip, good freshness and notable persistence, with echoes of aromatic herbs.
It goes well with rich and structured fish dishes and all white meats. Two suggested recipes: red mullet baked in foil with capers and pine nuts; rabbit hunter style.
Dellemore Rosso Cilento, Casebianche Agricultural Company
65% Aglianico, 20% Barbera, 15% Piedirosso
Only 6,500 bottles produced. Wine produced with Barbera grapes coming from a single "Vigna Vecchia" vineyard of 0.5 Ha over fifty years of age and Aglianico and Piedirosso grapes, which come, instead, from the "Dellemore" vineyard, of 1998, just under 1 hectare. The grapes undergo a six-day maceration in steel tanks and malolactic in wood, and then refine for 8 months in steel and 6 months in the bottle.
Intense and lively ruby red colour, with violet reflections. Aromas of fresh red fruit and spring flowers. The notes of cherry, blackberry and red currant, violet and iris, pomegranate and blood orange are well supported by a full and enveloping body and tasty acidity, with hints of tamarind.
It goes well with structured first courses and meat-based second courses. Try it with lasagna with lamb ragout, bean soup with chestnuts and walnuts or beef chops with ragout.
Bacioilcielo Rosso Paestum, Viticulturists De Conciliis
60% Aglianico, 40% Primitivo
“This wine respects nature: the papers, inks, dimensions, quantities of glass and every material used to produce it are selected to have the least possible impact on the environment. The box is produced with paper coming 100% from recycled waste from the municipalities of Campania".
Produced from grapes coming from almost all the De Conciliis vineyards, located on Cilento flysch, a soil rich in clay, sandstone and marl. The grapes were harvested between September 16th and October 7th and fermented in thermo-conditioned steel with maceration for 5 days; then the wine matures for 6 months in steel. Impenetrable ruby red color, with purple nuances . Suggestive nose that offers hints of plum and raspberry, wisteria and walnut husk, on a balsamic and spicy background, touches of star anise and graphite. Enveloping and savory on the palate, full-bodied, slightly warm and with soft and silky tannins. Excellent persistence.
Perfect with cured meats and medium-aged cheeses and tasty preparations from land cuisine. Cooking suggestions: pasta alla Norma; saddle of piglet with wild fennel.
EXPERT BOX
Pietraincatenata Fiano, Luigi Maffini
100% Fiano. Grapes coming from 4ha of espalier-trained vineyard in Giungano, close to the Cilento coast. Harvested between the second and third ten days of September. Subjected to soft pressing, followed by fermentation at a controlled temperature in new barriques . This is followed by aging in barriques for 4 months.
The wine has an intense and brilliant golden yellow color. A marked mineral, almost smoky imprint pervades the sensorial journey which then winds through memories of broom, hazelnut, sage and chamomile, mango and candied mandarin. Great thickness on the palate, played between softness at the start and a savory-mineral trail at the end, with elegant hints of toasted almonds, mint and wild flowers. Long finish.
Ideal for first and second seafood courses, it also manages to balance preparations with white meats. In particular, we offer: pasta, potatoes, mussels and provolone del monaco; linguine with sea urchins.
Cupersito Cilento Aglianico, Casebianche Agricultural Company
100% Aglianico. 4,300 bottles per year. Produced with the best Aglianico grapes coming from the “Vigna Acquasanta” of 1.3 hectares and from the “Vigna Dellemore” of just under 1 hectare. Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts in steel with maceration on the skins for 15 days and subsequent refinement for 12 months in oak barrels of different capacities.
Deep and concentrated ruby red color. Persuasive and suggestive nose, in the foreground you can appreciate red fruits and oriental spices, cherry, black cherry and blackcurrant, cloves and cardamom, light balsamic fragrances and Mediterranean sensations, then lavender and peony, a toasted note of coffee in the finish. Orderly and composed gustatory dynamics, played on the contrast between the velvety and muscular body on one side and the fragrant freshness and tannic explosiveness on the other. Balanced and harmonious.
We recommend it with first and second courses of meat and game, mature cheeses and in particular here are our suggested pairings: risotto with lamb ragout; pheasant with juniper; aged caciocavallo podolico.
Donnaluna Paestum Aglianico, Viticulturists De Conciliis
Produced with Aglianico grapes from the Cannetiello and Destro vineyards, planted between 1999 and 2000 and trained using the Guyot system . Grapes harvested between 25 September and 26 October, fermented in thermo-conditioned steel, in contact with the skins for 11 days, after which the wine is aged for a year for 50% in steel and the remaining 50% in barrels oak of 3,000 lt.
Robust, energetic and strong. He has within him all the excesses of a teenager, who, when he matures, unravels everything and dispenses sweetness. With a ruby red color, deep and shiny. Wide and layered aromas, from the memory of freshly blossomed rose to the red fruits of the undergrowth, then plum and sour cherry, white pepper, mineral and earthy nuances, slate and humus.
In the mouth it is warm and enveloping, with a solid and integrated tannin that gives the wine room for evolution. Everything is supported by a vibrant freshness, almost reminiscent of blood orange.
Excellent with mature cheeses and cured meats, red meats and ragù. Try it with fusilli with Neapolitan ragù or with wild boar stew and black olives.
