Appellation · Italy
Taurasi
Aglianico grown high in the Campanian hills — the "Barolo of the South", and a comparison that for once holds up.
Full-bodied, dry, firmly tannic red with black cherry, leather, tobacco and smoke. High acidity, long finish, and closed for its first decade.
About Taurasi
Taurasi is made from Aglianico in the hills inland from Naples, at 400–700 m. It was the first DOCG in southern Italy.
Aglianico is a late-ripening variety with high tannin and high acidity — structurally much like Nebbiolo, which is where the "Barolo of the South" comparison comes from. It is picked in late October or November, sometimes after the first frost.
The wines are dark, firm and savoury, with black cherry, leather, tobacco and a distinctly volcanic, smoky edge, and they need a decade.
Campania is also Italy’s most interesting region for indigenous white varieties: Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo are both DOCGs and both make textured, ageworthy dry white.
What the name means
- Legal name
- Taurasi DOCG
- Type
- Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG)
- Set by
- MASAF
- Recognised
- 1993
- Regulates
- Origin, plus grape varieties, maximum yields, minimum ageing.
Everything a DOC controls, plus a compulsory analytical and tasting examination before bottling and a numbered state seal on the neck. The tier above DOC in regulatory strictness, which is not the same as guaranteed quality.
A minimum of 85% Aglianico, with three years’ minimum ageing of which at least one in wood; Riserva requires four.
Grapes
Wines from here
Climate
- Vineyard elevation
- 400–700 m
- Temperature
- Moderate
- Day–night swing
- Wide
Inland and high — 400–700 m in the Apennine foothills — which is why a southern Italian region grows a very late-ripening, high-acid variety successfully. Aglianico is often picked in November here.
Taurasi has a moderate climate with altitude and mediterranean influences. Nights are markedly cooler than days. Inland and high — 400–700 m in the Apennine foothills — which is why a southern Italian region grows a very late-ripening, high-acid variety successfully. Aglianico is often picked in November here.
Vintage variation
Vintage matters little
Reliable sunshine, low disease pressure and — often — irrigation to smooth out what rainfall does not deliver. The grapes ripen every year.
- Mediterranean influence. Hot dry summers and reliable sunshine. Ripeness is rarely the question.
Derived from the climate above, not from anyone’s view of particular years. Why there are no vintage scores here.
These are influences on how a wine turns out, not determinants of it. Picking date, yield, vine age and every winemaking decision sit between the climate and the glass.
Rules worth knowing
Confirmed in the EU register
Taurasi is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-IT-A0237, protected at EU level since 1973.
Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013
Specification published: Official Journal C 64, 24.02.2021 · Official Journal
Only the rules that change what to expect in the glass or on the label. WineHQ does not reproduce production specifications, and each entry carries the date it was last checked because appellation rules change.
The designation is confirmed above. WineHQ has not read this appellation’s production specification, so it publishes no yields, ageing minima or permitted-variety lists for it — those come from the document linked above, not from a summary of it.
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
Where to go next
Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.
- Campania — Southern Italy’s most serious region for indigenous varieties, with Aglianico, Fiano and Greco all grown on volcanic soils.
- Aglianico del Vulture — Aglianico on the slopes of an extinct volcano in Basilicata, and one of southern Italy’s least known great reds.
Approximate centroid: 41.00°, 14.96°. WineHQ stores coordinates only where it has them, and does not estimate boundaries it has not sourced.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Italian DOP and IGP wine register — Ministero dell’agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste (MASAF)