TERREDORA 06 TAURASI
The red wines of the Taurasi zone are the most celebrated fine wines made in Southern Italy. It’s not uncommon to see passionate descriptions of Taurasi as the “Brunello” or “Barolo” of Southern Italy—indeed Taurasi has the power and ageability of the biggest Brunellos, but also a heady perfume quality combining earth, spice, and dried potpourri floral aromas with some of the same elegance and range as Barolo. The Aglianico grape at the core of Taurasi wines has all the mystery within it of grapes like Pinot Noir and Tempranillo that show amazing sensitivity to the variables of terroir. Will these wines ever receive the international attention of Barolo or Brunello? Probably not as the volcanic slopes of Mt Vesuvius are difficult to farm and there are only a handful of Taurasi producers—all small production. Two years ago Lucio Mastroberardino, the man behind Terredora, cut the price of this “normale” bottling of Taurasi almost in half—even though the current vintage at the time had 94pts from Wine Advocate.The 2006 Terredora Taurasi has not been rated yet, but adventurous palates will be rewarded here with aromas of incense, sweet tobacco, rosemary, vivid red cherry, and violets.
