Oct

23

Fucci Titolo Aglianico

Filed Under Reds

The 2004 Fucci Titolo is a deeply colored wine, with a nose of cassis and black cherries and herbs. Always full-bodied and generous with ample tannins, “Titolo” will reward cellaring. This is a true “garage” operation. The Fucci vineyards, at an altitude of some 2,000 feet on a lava flow named “Titolo,” yield a miniscule 35 hectoliters per hectare of immensely concentrated wine.

TITOLO


The 2004 Fucci Titolo—an award-winning, blockbuster cuvée that captures and concentrates the energy of an active volcano at its pure, Aglianico-driven heart—cannot be ignored. Fucci and family have been awarded Italy’s highest wine honors two years running for this high-altitude, utterly explosive Aglianico wine, yet we’ve never been more impressed than with their outstanding 2004.

Aglianico is one of Italy’s most noble indigenous varietals, and at its best can rival Nebbiolo and Sangiovese Grosso for complexity, power and longevity. In the past, the wines were rustic and tannic, often dried out and over-wooded. Today the best Aglianico bottlings compete with the greatest red wines in the world. Fucci’s Titolo is one example of how breathtaking and impressive Aglianico can be!

Aglianico (believed to be a corruption of “hellenico,” or Hellenic, Greek) found its way here via Greek colonies on the coast who eventually migrated inland, and further north. With their belongings they too brought their favorite grape, which happened to flourish in the volcanic soils of the highlands.

The soils in this region are a series of layers of “pozzolana” volcanic ash from the successive eruptions of now-extinct Mount Vulture, which looms over the area to the north. Some layers are dense and hold water throughout the summer, while other layers act like gravel and easily drain water. It’s ideal terroir for vines, and similar to regions such as Pauillac, with its clay and gravel layers.

The vineyards for “Titolo,” named after one of three lava flows that surround Barile, sit at more than 2,000 feet and are some of the highest of the appellation. The soils here, called “pozzolana,” are pure volcanic ash and rock. Harvested by hand starting at the end of October, this cuvée is practically the last dry red wine harvested in all of Europe, and shows a concentration and perfume that is unparalleled.

The pitch-black lava flows surrounding the town of Barile today give birth to some of the boldest dry red wines in the world—yet Basilicata still remains practically undiscovered as a region for great wine.

We’re convinced that Titolo in 2004 will achieve epic status—this is a wine that will continue to unveil its treasures over many decades. (We’ve opened older bottles of Aglianico and to a one they age in step with the finest Barolo—if not longer.) Crushed boysenberries in the glass, Titolo consumes you with perfumes of baking spices, licorice and dark chocolate. Buy a case today, and put it away for 30 years. A treasure truly worth waiting for.

Contact Jonathan Keller to acquire Titolo.