Think of Aglianico as the ancient Roman answer to Cabernet Sauvignon - a big, dark red famous for graceful aging and a long mineral finish that reminds us of great Bordeaux.
Grown at 1450’ elevation on red, obsidian-strewn soil resulting from Mt. Konocti’s volcanic upheaval, Aglianico is Prima Materia’s most important bottling, bringing the monster Cabernet experience through this wonderful grape. We planted one acre of this grape in 2003 just two miles from Lake County's extinct Mt. Konocti volcano - an almost perfect match for the grape's homeland on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius in Campania. We manage the vines rigorously and move the crushed fruit by hand, and then age it for 28 months in neutral French oak barrels. Aglianico is famous for its slow aging, and some vintages take 36 months before bottling.
Tasting notes: Our biggest, boldest red wine, with the Sagrantino just a hair behind. Loads of dark red and black fruits with black cherry, dark plums, licorice, baking spice, graphite, cassis, and a touch of roasted herbs. Medium acidity and grippy signature tannins are definitely present, but in refined, crafted form. Good minerality. Like a mountainside Cabernet Sauvignon or old school Bordeaux loaded with black rock earthiness, but more Italianate.
92 points Wine Enthusiast + editor's choice: "Superconcentrated black-fruit flavors and a firm, grippy texture combine for a powerful expression of this Italian grape variety..."
Vineyard: Taurasi Clones VCR 2 (virused with red blotch, tight bunches, larger berries, acidity plus earth, beautifully rustic) and 7 (fruit, spice, small open clusters, more “modern”) planted in 2003 on bilateral north/south cordon utilizing “California sprawl” trellising and St. George rootstock. Though cordon pruning works, we are seeing that Aglianico is very susceptible to pruning wounds, so we are chopping arms and starting over with cane pruning. Approximately 7% Montepulciano interplanted. Nearly dry farmed. No pesticides or herbicides.
Winemaking: Hand harvested. Native fermentation in bins, gentle hand punchdowns after a cold harvest and roughly 4-5-day soak. Just a bit of whole cluster as Aglianico doesn’t seem to like very much for us. Bins fermented to different peak temperatures. 16-20 days fermenting then basket pressed at dryness. No racking until bottling and the wine is unfined and unfiltered, but with such long barrel aging it is perfectly clear. Aglianico does not really have reduction issues, but it can completely shut down for years, leading to fretting over release dates.
Watch our Aglianico deep-dive class on Youtube
95% Aglianico with approx. 5% Montepulciano interplanted and cofermented
About 2.8 tons per acre yield
8 5-15 year 225l barrels, all quite neutral
No racking until bottling, but occasionally aerated while being left on lees by pumping to a drum then back into barrel
unfined, unfiltered
pH 3.69
TA 6.1gm/l
14.3% abv
200 cases produced