Region: Campania, Italy

Varietal: 100% Pallagrello Nero

Tasting notes:  This is a very pretty red with dried sage and thyme punctuating fruitier notes of dried blackberries, as well as sesame seeds. Full-bodied, chewy and very spicy, supporting an undercurrent of linear acidity that cuts successfully through the compressed dark fruit. There’s a good tanic structure and an attractive sweet-and-sour character on the finish. If you’re a fan of Italian wines you will appreciate this instantly!

Producer:  At the foothills of the Caiatini Mountains in the province of Caserta, the Alois family originally developed a reputation as quality silk producers in the 1800s during the reign of the Bourbon King of Naples, Ferdinand IV. The family’s fabric adorns famous walls around the world including the Italian Parliament, the White House and the Louvre Museum.  In 1992, Michele and his son Massimo Alois partnered up with the University of Naples in a quest to rediscover the ancient varieties of the Romans and Bourbons popular during the Bourbon era of Southern Italy in the 1800s. They grafted pre-phylloxera cuttings of Casavecchia, Pallagrello Nero and Pallagrello Bianco onto the estate’s wild rootstocks and ultimately revived the popularity of these quasi forgotten varieties.

Vineyard and Winemaking:  The Alois Estate is located northeast of Naples in an Amphitheater-like setting of rolling hills near the inactive volcano of Roccamonfina and the Matese Mountains. The farming practices of the Alois family are not yet organically certified but 100% sustainable. The Pallagrello Nero is from the Casalicchio vineyard and the vines, planted at 900 feet above sea level, grow upon beds of limestone soils. After harvest, the grapes macerate on skins for 10 days in large oak casks. The wine ages for 12 months in oak then for another 12 in bottle before release.