Elena Fucci Aglianico del Vulture Titolo 2012
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The wine shines bright with primary aromas of dark fruit, herb, oak spice and dark volcanic tones of crushed granite and smoke. Given the proven track record of this wine, I'd expect this vintage to age for 15 to 20 years without a hitch. The 2012 vintage was only slightly warmer than average and those ripe fruit flavors do a lot to round out and soften the firm tannic backbone of the wine. There's a notable point of acidity that helps the wine to achieve an impressive sense of balance. Elena Fucci has another successful edition of Titolo for us to enjoy over the years to come.
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Wine Spectator
Firm tannins support a palate brimming with ripe black cherry and plum sauce flavors, accented by fresh brown bread, grilled herb, espresso and graphite-tinged mineral details. Supple and mouthwatering, showing good focus through to the lingering, well-spiced finish. Best from 2017 through 2027.
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The Fucci family has lived on their estate in Basilicata since 1960, when Elena’s grandfather bought six hectares of vineyards at the highest part Contrada Solagna of Titolo, at the foot of Mount Vulture (an extinct volcano). Her grandfather and father tended the vines and sold the harvest as bulk grapes, only vinifying a small portion for personal consumption.
It wasn’t until the 2000 vintage that the full potential of the domain’s 70-year-old Aglianico vines was properly explored. The family was going through the process of selling the estate when Elena made the last-minute decision to take on the property herself, with the intention of developing the vineyard and devoting herself to the land that she grew up loving so dearly. 2000 was the first proper vintage at Elena Fucci, harvested and vinified while Elena was still completing her studies in Viticulture and Enology.
She knew from the beginning that they wanted to devote themselves to producing a singular wine, reflective of their unique terroir. Simply walking through the vineyard rows at Elena Fucci is a fascinating history lesson; the terrain is volcanic, the soil is mineral, dark in color, and pozzolanic, which clearly catalogues in its layers the history and life of the Vulture volcano, visible just a few hundred meters away. The eruptive phases composed of lava flows, lapilli and ash, interspersed with periods of stasis, composed of layers of clay, are all visible in the land, which translates to a fascinating wine in the glass.
Making its home in the mountainous southern Italy, Aglianico is a bold red variety that is late to ripen and often spends until November on the vine. It thrives in Campania as the exclusive variety in the age-worthy red wine called Taurasi. Aglianico also has great success in the volcanic soils of Basilicata where it makes the robust, Aglianico del Vulture. Somm Secret—The name “Aglianico” bears striking resemblance to Ellenico, the Italian word for "Greek," but no evidence shows it has Greek ancestry. However, it first appeared in Italy around an ancient Greek colony located in present-day Avellino, Campania.
Inhabiting the arch of Italy’s boot, this southern, mountainous region has a relatively small amount of vineyard area under vine. Basilicata has one DOCG for its prized red grape, Aglianico, Aglianico del Vulture Superior, which is limited to the slopes of an extinct volcano. The best whites are made of Malvasia bianca.