It’s been chilly out. Of course, I realize I have no cause to complain here in Northern California. The cold here has nothing to do with the cold we left back in New York, or in many other places in the northern parts of the US for that matter. We even had a mini-Spring as a break a few weeks ago when the temps suddenly rose for a week or two. It’s chilly again now to me, nonetheless. (I know, I know–How quickly we become spoiled!)
Aglianico is a perfect wine to turn to on such evenings. I definitely speaks of warmer places like it’s home in southern Italy. It’s exactly the type of wine that acts like a cuddly blanket, since it tends to be big, bold, and full of dark cherry, plum, chocolate, and spices. We recently decided to dig into our “cellar” stash to open just such a bottle for a comforting dinner in.
This grape is not for the faint of heart. It has richness, weight, structure, and longevity . . . but for all this you must have patience and wait for it to come together with age. It is typical of Campania and Basilicata (today’s wine is from the latter), and can be found elsewhere in southern Italy. (Click here to see a map.) It tends to be quite high in tannin, which can be really overpowering in the wine’s youth. Luckily, that tannin is also balanced by lots of acidity, which is really important when you’re dealing with a grape that makes such big wines, particularly from a hot region. With this structure, this is a grape that definitely lends itself to aging well when made by quality producers. Lighter, easy drinking styles are made as well and can be really lovely for more immediate consumption, but the higher end versions will continue to improve in the bottle for over a decade.
Some of the best examples come from the areas surrounding Monte Vulture in Basilicata under the DOC Aglianico del Vulture–the origin of today’s wine. (The region was elevated to DOCG status in 2010 under the label Aglianico del Vulture Superiore.) Monte Vulture is an extinct volcano and the volcanic soils help to produce wines of particular richness and concentration. Grapes are planted on the slopes at high altitudes (between 200 and 700 meters under DOC regulation) which provides a slightly cooler climate and helps better preserve acidity in the grapes. At the same time, the slopes help ensure that the grapes get plenty of sunshine–the grapes here actually get more sunshine hours than almost any others in the world
THE PAIRING
In fact, the wine was in a GREAT place on the day we opened it. Greg and I picked up notes of warm black cherry compote on the nose, with a mix of black and red berries and smoked plums, a little black tea, licorice, spices, pepper, rosemary, and bramble. It was closed on the nose to start, but then it opened up nicely. It’s a modern style wine, and many of the same notes continued on the palate, along with notes of kirsch, stewed fruits, warm earth, and violets. In addition, there were hints of orange peel, sage, potpurri, blackberries, exotic spices, and smoke. There was a comforting warmth to this wine. It was generous and round even upon opening, but it just continued to open up and unfurl luxuriously with time–I would definitely recommend decanting. Even after the nine years the acid was very bright (medium+). It was full bodied with medium+ tannins that were dusty but smooth. Frankly, this wine was bang’n! We enjoyed every last drop. That said, I think it could age much longer.
The chilly day and the wine both seemed to call for something meaty and comforting. A braised dish was decidedly in order. I decided on oxtails, which despite the name actually usually come from the the tail of the cow. We also thought it would be nice to play up the fragrant notes of licorice, herbs, and spices, so I added tarragon, rosemary, and anise to the braise. These sent off beautiful smells from the kitchen while it all cooked in the oven. I added parsnips to the braise, but feel free to switch in other root vegetables.
To soak up all the delicious sauce, I decided to serve pearled barley as a side, which has a light nutty quality that I thought would be a good complement to the wine. I also added a little orange zest to play to the brightness in the wine, as well as a little tarragon to continue that thread from the braise.
It was a fabulous combo! It was all as comforting and luxurious as I’d hoped. The wine was smooth and velvety alongside the food. The notes of kirsch and licorice really came out int he wine, as did the bright note from the orange rind in the barley. Greg said that the wine and the food were "both complex, warm, round hugs to the mouth." We ate it greedily ourselves and saved the extras for leftovers–as with most braises and stews, the sauce was better in the following days. Even though we kept this all to ourselves this time, it would be an ideal dish to make ahead of time and serve for a dinner party.
GEEKY DETAILS
Admittedly, I could not find much of the history of the winery on their website. That said, they do provide plenty of details on the wine itself. These are taken from the tech sheet:Alcohol: 14.5%
Terroir: These grapes come from 1,300-1,800 feet (about 396-549 meters) above sea level. The vines are planted in volcanic soils rich in clay, calcium, nitrogen
and tuff.
Farming: Environmentally conscious farming practices
Vine Age: 70 to 80 years old
Vinification Process: Pre-fermentative maceration takes place at 41°F for 10 days and is followed by fermentation carried out using natural yeasts for 60 days at a maximum temperature of 79°F.
Aging Process: The wine is put into new barriques for 24 months.
Recommended Cellaring: 10 to 15 years.
MONEY TALK
The SRP at the time of release of this wine was $37. At that price, this is an Attainable Indulgence and it fully delivered on every level. Of course, quite a bit of time has gone by–the average price on Wine Searcher for this vintage is $44, which I still find quite reasonable for this wine.OTHER POSSIBILITIES
The winery suggest that this wine pairs well with red meats, game, and maturecheeses. Wine Folly also has more helpful recommendations for Aglianico pairings which you can find here. Altogether, this is a big wine and it should have robust fare to accompany it.
On the flip side, if you’re looking to pair another wine with this dish, don’t hold back and feel free to put your big, bold reds up against it. I would say that the earthiness of an old world wine works well with the light gaminess of the oxtails. Similarly, I think you’re more likely to find similar licorice spice notes in old world reds as well.
