Collection: Taurasi DOCG

Taurasi DOCG is one of Southern Italy's truly great red wine classifications and comes from Campania, where the appellation zone flanks the river Calore east of Avellino. This is a distinctly mountainous terroir. The vineyards lie on slopes at 640 metres of altitude and upwards, on soils of volcanic deposits and calcareous marls with a high limestone content. It is precisely this high proportion of limestone that helps give the wines their pronounced tannic structure.

The grape is Aglianico, which thrives in the cool, high-altitude climate of Irpinia and is harvested late, typically at the end of October or the beginning of November. Taurasi is made exclusively as a red wine, and together with Aglianico del Vulture it is considered one of Italy's two finest Aglianico appellations.

The regulations impose requirements on ageing. A Taurasi must be aged for at least three years before release, of which at least one year must take place in oak barrels. This produces wines with a raw power that unfolds into complexity over the years. The style is rich in tannin and almost tar-like in its youth, with flavours of black fruit and an earthy character that often leans towards leather, tea leaves and cigar box. The woodland, earthbound profile is a direct imprint of the mountainous terroir of Irpinia.

It is a wine that rewards patience. Young, a Taurasi can seem tight and introverted, but with time in the bottle it gains both aroma and depth, and it performs well at the table with hearty food such as game, lamb and mature cheeses.

At Copenhagen Wine we stock Taurasi from its homeland in Campania, Italy, where the grape and the terroir belong naturally together. If you want to understand what Aglianico can do in its noblest form, this appellation is an obvious place to start.