Galardi Terra di Lavoro 2010
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Winemaker Notes
Pair this wine with grilled ribeye steaks.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A unique wine with iodine, red seaweed, mineral and dried fruits with hints of figs. Baslamic. You can feel the warmth of the volcanic soil. Full body with soft and silky tannins. Stylish and characterful. Better in a year or two. You need to try this.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I hope one day to have another chance to taste a vertical of Roccamonfina Terra di Lavoro because I have a strong feeling the 2010 will occupy a place among the very finest vintages produced on this tiny vineyard on the slopes of the Roccamonfina volcano. An exotic melange of tar, smoke, graphite, blackberry jam and savory herbs explode from the glass. The 2010 is intense and full-bodied, yet also incredibly elegant. A big, breathtaking wine, the 2010 continues to build all the way through to a deeply resonant, expressive finish. I would choose to leave this uttterly beguiling Campanian red alone for the better part of a decade, but readers are going to have a very hard time excercising that patience. This is a fabulous effort from proprietors Arturo and Dora Celentano, and their long-time winemaker Riccardo Cotarella. 97+
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Wine Spectator
A dark, beefy red, with layers of game, underbrush and wild herb to the dark blackberry, cassis and plum skin notes. Full yet fine tannins add grip, as the fruit and hints of mocha and ash highlight the finish.
Other Vintages
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The family-owned Galardi estate produces just one wine and it does so with perfection. Located on volcanic slopes in northwestern Campania, the vineyards are nestled among chestnut groves and benefit from Mediterranean Sea breezes. Terra di Lavoro actually means “land of work” in Italian, a name that has historical roots, but also accurately reflects the difficult volcanic soil composition which results in very low yields. In this challenging environment, Aglianico and its supporting grape Piedirosso produce wines of incredible depth, complexity and elegance.
Galardi is both concept and wine born out of the collective energy and shared vision of four cousins. Terro di Lavoro expresses the natural environment of Campania without parallel. The winery, named for the localita (area) Galardi, was created from scratch in 1991 when four cousins decided to produce wine from what was then a scant 0.5 hectare plot belonging to the family. The cousins, Maria Lusia Murena, Arturo and Dora Celentano, and Francesco Castello, shared a vision for producing a world class wine from Roccamonfina, an extinct volcano, 100 kilometers north and west of Campania's traditional quality zone of Taurasi. In 1993, the group requested the assistance of winemaking consultant Riccardo Cotarella, who had already achieved fame for his work with another Campanian estate: Montevetrano. The old rootstock was grafted over to high-quality cuttings of Aglianico and Piedirosso and in 1994, 600 bottles were produced and Galardi was born.
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.
A winemaking renaissance is underfoot in Campania as more and more small, artisan and family-run wineries redefine their style with vineyard improvements and cellar upgrades. The region boasts a cool Mediterranean climate with extreme coastal, as well as high elevation mountain terroirs. It is cooler than one might expect in Campania; the region usually sees some of the last harvest dates in Italy.
Just south of Mount Vesuvio, the volcanic and sandy soils create aromatic and fresh reds based on Piedirosso and whites, made from Coda di Volpe and Falanghina. Both reds and whites go by the name, Lacryma Christi, meaning the "tears of Christ." South of Mount Vesuvio, along the Amalfi Coast, the white varieties of Falanghina and Biancolella make fresh, flirty, mineral-driven whites, and the red Piedirosso and Sciasinoso vines, which cling to steeply terraced coastlines, make snappy and ripe red wines.
Farther inland, as hills become mountains, the limestone soil of Irpinia supports the whites Fiano di Avellino, Falanghina and Greco di Tufo as well as the most-respected red of the south, Aglianico. Here the best and most age-worthy examples come from Taurasi.
Farther north and inland near the city of Benevento, the Taburno region also produces Aglianico of note—called Aglianico del Taburno—on alluvial soils. While not boasting the same heft as Taurasi, these are also reliable components of any cellar.