Elena Fucci`s Aglianico del Vulture “Titolo“ 2015 has landed!

Elena Fucci`s Aglianico del Vulture “Titolo“ 2015 (Basilicata)

Let me, humbly, introduce you, dear reader, to something you have never come across before… Titolo!!!

The estate makes only one wine, roughly 25,000 bottles a year, of it`s Aglianico del Vulture ‘Titolo’, which is, of course, one of only a dozen or so southern Italian reds actively pursued by international wine drinkers & wine collectors.

It is a cleaner, deeper and a more refined wine than almost any other red being made on the Vulture.

Aglianico del Vulture is potentially one of the world’s, not just Italy’s, greatest wines, and I am not bullroaring here, and no single bottling demonstrates it`s quality better than Elena’s Titolo. It helps, of course, that the Titolo vineyard is probably the best vineyard of the Vulture denominazione, a true Grand Cru Classe, as it where, uniquely blessed with a fresh microclimate. The Fuccis own 6.7 hectares (16.5 acres) of 55 to 65 year old Aglianico vines (also a few vines are well over 70 years of age) in the Titolo vineyard located in the subzone Solagna del Titolo from which the vineyard’s name comes from. Only six hectares are currently planted, thank goodness.

As the vineyard is situated close to the volcano’s summit at approximately 600 meters (approximately 2,000 feet) above sea level, an almost continuous cooling breeze blows from the top of the hill down the slope through the vines. This air movement contributes greatly to the relatively cool environment of the Titolo vineyard. The soil here is also slightly different than that found in other parts of the denominazione. While it’s essentially volcanic, there are pockets of loam and clay sandwiched between the layers of lava that were formed during eruptions that occurred back in the day. Thanks to the soil’s capacity for good water retention, when needed, the vines rarely suffer from water stress.

Elena`s winemaking is fairly traditional but with a few modernist touches. For example, fermentation temperatures never exceed 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit), and this may partly explain the strongly perfumed quality of Fucci’s wines. The wine is aged for about 12 months in small oak barrels, depending on the vintage, but the oak regimen has changed in recent years. The last vintage to feature 100% new oak barriques was 2008, and the estate is now making use of larger oak casks as ageing vessels.

When you order from me the 2015 vintage of  Elena`s Titolo, and open a bottle you will find it powerful yet remarkably refined, with deep aromas and flavors of red cherry, minerals and botanical herbs. The oak is very well integrated. While the wine undoubtedly reflects the vintage’s, 2015, unique conditions. The mouthfeel, is super smooth and sexy, we could say that this is Titolo’s signature. The rustic notes that plague many of the Vulture’s other Aglianico bottlings are notably absent here. Wine drinkers, lovers and collectors owe it to themselves to buy some of Fucci’s knockout Aglianico del Vulture Titolo, as it ranks amongst the best that Italy has to offer today!

Enough said!