Earlier this month
our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group (#ItalianFWT) featured the
region of the Basilicata. In writing about the most popular grape of
the region, aglianico, it brought about the question on how does
aglianico of the south compare to nebbiolo of the north.
Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo is a
grape most known for producing some of the top wines of Italy, barolo
and barbaresco. Nebbiolo is found primarily in the region Piedmont,
but is also found in Lombardy in the Valtellina winegrowing area, as
well as the Valle d'Aosta. You can read more about nebbiolo and some
of the differences between barolo and
barbaresco to get a better understanding regarding these two
wines and some more traits of the grape itself.
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| Nebbiolo growing in Barbaresco |
Aglianico
Aglianico is a
grape that is primarily found in the regions of Campania, mostly
around Mount Vesuvius and in the Basilicata region, mostly found in
the Monte Vulture area. As you'll see it shines when grown in
volcanic soil and is what makes the wine special. You'll find
further detail about the aglianico
grape on my recent article.
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| Mt. Vesuvius over Pompeii |
Aglianico
has been called the “barolo of the south” and yes, it does have
some similarities to nebbiolo in the north, but aglianico is a grape
that has enough differences to be recognized on its own as it should
be.
Similarities of Aglianico and
Nebbiolo
There are many similarities between these two grapes from two
different spectrums of Italy. To start off they are both late
ripening grapes that produce wines with high tannins and acid.
Obviously each cru site, or single vineyard site, where these wines
are grown have their own characteristics, but they're typically
dense, complex, rich and concentrated wines. These are the types of
wine that can be aged for 10-30 years or more depending on the
producer. They usually will benefit from some decanting and need
time in the bottle to be more approachable and to mature.
Differences
of Aglianico and Nebbiolo
I believe that
aglianico is a grape that is more approachable in its youth. You can
find some wines from La Morra for example that are more approachable
in their youth, but we're talking the overall general picture. These
grapes also have different aging requirements when comparing the
DOCG's of Basilicata and Barolo and Barbaresco. The Aglianico del
Vulture Superiore of Basilicata requires 2 years of aging for the
regular red and 4 years for the riserva. In comparison, Barbaresco
is more closely related with it's aging period of 26 months for it's
red and 50 for it's riserva. Barolo is higher requiring 38 months
for it's red and 62 months for it's riserva. Lastly, you can find
more affordable aglianico wines than you will find in Barolo and
Barbaresco, but there are plenty of other nebbiolo wines from the
other regions I mentioned as well as others grown within Piedmont
outside of Barolo and Barbaresco.
What are your
thoughts on these two grapes and do you have a preference? I'd love
to hear from you.
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