The 2008 Taurasi Radici Riserva Antonio is a one-off wine made only this vintage to celebrate the incredible life and influence of Antonio Mastroberardino who passed away in January 2014. The wine is made only with fruit from the Montemarano vineyard and it ages in wood for 30 months (40% sees botte grande and 60% goes into barrique). This is a beautifully polished and sophisticated wine with a deep, dark color and an impressively silky quality to the tannins. The bouquet shows ethereal tones of dried earth, rose petal, tar, resin and cola. The 2008 vintage was especially successful terms of phenolic ripeness for color intensity and aromas. I went back to the wine an hour after tasting it and was delighted to see that it continued to evolve and open. This is an elegant wine dedicated to one of the most passionate advocates of Campania wine.
The leading name in Avellino wine, Mastroberardino farms 13 vineyard sites that total 200 hectares. In addition, this historic estate leases more vineyard land in the Sannio and Vesuvio areas to produce a full portfolio of reds, whites and rosés from Campania. I tasted at the winery this year and learned that the Taurasi Radici Riserva was not produced in 2010. Instead, Mastroberardino is releasing a special wine, the 2008 Taurasi Radici Riserva Antonio, to mark the passing of the estate's beloved proprietor. I also had a chance to taste the IGT Campania Bianco 2013 Aglianico vinified off the skins as a white wine. Because the wine has not been given a name, I did not record my review in the database. This was a wine that existed until 1980 and was eventually discontinued. The 2013 vintage represents its resurrection and shows a rather neutral bouquet and a light straw color. There's more character in the mouth, where the wine delivers good freshness, a saline-like character and a dusty quality to the close. Abundant notes of dried herb also appear. I scored the wine 87 points.
Published: Apr 30, 2015