Ciro Picariello Greco di Tufo 2020

Ciro Picariello’s tiny 7 hectare estate lies at the heart of Campania’s white grape region of Avellino among the Irpinian hills. More precisely, he has four hectares of Fiano and red Aglianico perched on the slopes above Summonte at 650 metres altitude on volcanic, calcareous clay and ‘pietra di rame’ (copper stone) soils. The remaining 3 ha of Fiano and Greco are to be found 10 km away in the village of Montefredane, at 550 meters altitude on more clay dominant soils.

Ciro first planted his vines in 1990, he and his his wife Rita then started selling fruit to Feudi di San Gregorio in 1993 and in 2002 he made his first wine and from 2004 he bottles everything for his label. His is helped by Rita and daughter Emma, while his son Bruno is at viticultural school. Their vineyards lie in a north-south orientation to benefit from the cleansing air currents that shuttle up and the down the hills. He works ‘naturally’ in the vineyard, all by hand. He counts himself fortunate in that the region receives plenty of beneficial spring rain annually.

“Ciro Picariello makes some of Campania’s most sought-after wines. The stellar Fiano di Avellio is made with grapes grown in the very high-quality areas of Summonte and Montefredane, and sees minimal-intervention winemaking: only the juice from the first press fraction and indigenous yeasts are used, very little sulfur dioxide is added and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. Fiano wines age well in general, but Picariello’s especially so; should you find an eight- or ten-year-old bottle languishing on some restaurant wine list (unlikely in Italy), don’t hesitate to try it.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media 

The soil in this vineyard is a sandy clay of volcanic origin called tuff, or ‘tufo’ in Italian (but the name of the appellation refers not to the soil, but to the village of Tufo, which is not far from Avellino). Chunks of pure sulfur can sometimes be found in the vineyard. Picariello’s Greco is made similarly to his Fiano, although the must is pressed more quickly to avoid oxidation; this too is a stunning white wine, savory, very minerally, long and complex. Ciro’s description: ‘orange blossom, citrus peel, melon…’ There are only 3000 bottles produced of this wine so stock is extremely limited!

RRP $51  Our Special Price $45.99  – VERY LIMITED!