Aglianico del Vulture "Titolo Riserva" Elena Fucci

Only 400 bottles are produced of this red riserva named “Titolo”, the jewel of the Elena Fucci winery and an extreme selection of Aglianico del Vulture grapes from the best vintages only. Regarded as the benchmark wine of southern Italy, it offers evolved notes of dried fruit and red fruit, with character and structure and a unique, well-defined mineral imprint, its signature trait. 
Elena Fucci has run the family winery since the early 2000s, when she realised and decided that those 6 hectares of vineyard, then about to be sold, would be her future. A determined oenologist, but above all a talented vigneronne, she is today one of the leading faces of southern Italian winemaking, a testament to the great development of southern viticulture over recent decades, which is still ongoing. 
This Aglianico del Vulture is a true ambassador of the volcanic territory of Basilicata. It comes from the oldest plot, with vines over 70 years old, located in the village of Barile on the slopes of Monte Vulture, an ancient extinct volcano that gives the soil and the wine a character that cannot be replicated. The soil here, among the best suited to Aglianico, is made up of layers of pozzolana, lapilli, ash and clay, elements which, together with the cool climate and marked day-night temperature swings, give the grapes extraordinary complexity and minerality.
The grapes are harvested by hand, each bunch is destemmed and the berries carefully selected on sorting tables; the berries, kept practically whole, are transferred to stainless steel tanks for a long alcoholic fermentation with maceration on the skins and selected yeasts. 
The wine continues its ageing in French oak barriques, half of them new, where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and 12 months of ageing. It is then moved to new tonneaux, where it ages for a further 24 months, followed by another year in bottle. 
Deep, intense ruby red in colour, with a flavourful palate rich in evolved aromas of dried fruit and blackberry, and distinct notes of ash and crushed river stone.
On the palate it stands out for its strong mineral identity, the perfect integration of its tannins, which are usually very much present in Aglianico wines, and its great structure.
The result is a wine of great elegance and depth, able to tell the millennia-old story of Monte Vulture through a complex aromatic range, a rich palate and impeccable balance: perfect for special occasions and highly refined dishes, especially meat, accompanied by aged cheeses or rare, fine charcuterie.