Solagna del Titolo (Barile)
Province of Potenza
Established: 1979
Owner: Fucci family
Winemaker: Elena Fucci
Production: 18,000 bottles
Hectares under vine: 6
Viticulture: Natural
In less than a decade, and producing just one wine from her family’s vineyards on Monte Vulture, Elena Fucci has created a new classic in Italian winemaking.
Monte Vulture, a 1326 metre high extinct volcano in northern Basilicata, lends its name to Basilicata’s most significant wine, Aglianico del Vulture. Aglianico has somewhat of a mythical reputation and, as one of Italy’s noble red grapes, is said by many to be the ‘Barolo of the south’. On the steep slopes of Monte Vulture the vines benefit from the intense sunlight of the south and, at these altitudes, the dramatic day and night temperature differences that promote freshness and acidity. The climate is relatively cool and the harvest is one of the latest, beginning in the last week of October.
The Fucci vineyard is located on the Titolo lava channel of Monte Vulture in northern Basilicata, grown at 650 metres on a volcanic lava mix known locally as ‘pozzolana’. The viticulture is organic and tending the grapes is labour intensive, picked by hand and crushed in small batches. Titolo is fermented in stainless, malolactic takes place in new French barrique and the wine is aged a further twelve months. It is intensely aromatic with rich, ripe fruit, the palate full bodied with firm tannins and acidity, allowing it to age for many years. This is a wine that really speaks of its origins, both place and grape.
Our first vintage is the highly regarded 2007. Here’s what Antonio Galloni says on the wine: “Titolo is a ripe, seamless wine endowed with layers of espresso, dark fruit, sage, rosemary, spices, crushed rocks and French oak, all of which come together on a textured, sumptuous frame. This dense, full-bodied Aglianico impresses for its richness, impeccable overall balance and fabulous length. It should be even better in a few years’ time. Once again, Elena Fucci has made a reference-point wine for Basilicata.” It doesn’t get much better than that.
Wines
2007 Aglianico del Vulture DOC ‘Titolo’ x 6