Quintodecimo Greco di Tufo Giallo d'Arles 2020
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Greco di Tufo grape is characterized by a content of coloring matter higher than the other white grapes of the Campania region. For this reason, at full maturation, this grape becomes golden with amber tones on the sun-exposed side. The must is reddish ochre. The wine, if not clarified, has an intense golden colour. Giallo d’Arles is an extreme and rigorous interpretation of the Greco di Tufo wine. It is a cru produced with one vineyard of Greco grapes. The ancient yellow-golden colour, typical of the denomination, is more intense also thanks to the partial fermentation in new oak barrels and thanks to the complete absence of any clarification treatments. It is a white wine with the structure of a red wine, powerful and refined, characterized by a deep minerality blended with flavours of apricot and quince marmelade and by a full and fresh taste. Giallo d’Arles has also an extraordinary predisposition to maturation in bottle, obtaining year-by-year elegance, complexity and harmony. The name given to the wine is a tribute to Van Gogh’s favourite colour during his stay in Arles: a yellow which is a prelude of red.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of freshly sliced pear, together with the typical aniseed-like accompaniment, rounded off with some milder mineral and floral notes. Medium-bodied with sprightly fruit flavors and a crisp, lightly phenolic finish. Energetic greco!
Other Vintages
2021-
Robert
Parker - Vinous
The name of the winery, Quintodecimo, is an homage to the ancient story of Mirabella Eclano.Quintodecimo’s wines were born in a very ancient territory to which we have a strong bond and have made an absolute commitment in producing high quality wines.
The Quintodecimo estate is located in a mountainous interior known as Irpinia. It is a beautiful area where climate, soil and vines coexist in an extraordinary balance that has fortified over the centuries to the point of creating ideal natural conditions for the production of high quality wines. The climate, because of the Apennine ridge, is characterized by abundant rainfall (average annual rainfall 600-800 mm), extreme temperatures, snowy winters and mild summers, with average temperatures which are never excessive. The Irpinia landscape is very original for an environment in southern Italy.
A late-ripening, medium-bodied variety from Campania, Greco delivers a relatively high acidity and flaunts an invigorating mineral character alongside fresh citrus, stone fruitand herb flavors. Somm Secret—The name Tufo comes from the soft, volcanic rock found all over in the subsoil of the region where Greco thrives.
A winemaking renaissance is underfoot in Campania as more and more small, artisan and family-run wineries redefine their style with vineyard improvements and cellar upgrades. The region boasts a cool Mediterranean climate with extreme coastal, as well as high elevation mountain terroirs. It is cooler than one might expect in Campania; the region usually sees some of the last harvest dates in Italy.
Just south of Mount Vesuvio, the volcanic and sandy soils create aromatic and fresh reds based on Piedirosso and whites, made from Coda di Volpe and Falanghina. Both reds and whites go by the name, Lacryma Christi, meaning the "tears of Christ." South of Mount Vesuvio, along the Amalfi Coast, the white varieties of Falanghina and Biancolella make fresh, flirty, mineral-driven whites, and the red Piedirosso and Sciasinoso vines, which cling to steeply terraced coastlines, make snappy and ripe red wines.
Farther inland, as hills become mountains, the limestone soil of Irpinia supports the whites Fiano di Avellino, Falanghina and Greco di Tufo as well as the most-respected red of the south, Aglianico. Here the best and most age-worthy examples come from Taurasi.
Farther north and inland near the city of Benevento, the Taburno region also produces Aglianico of note—called Aglianico del Taburno—on alluvial soils. While not boasting the same heft as Taurasi, these are also reliable components of any cellar.