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Now Viewing: Montevetrano
The Campania Region somewhat resembles an oyster in shape, nestling its lovely capital, Naples, like a pearl. Its geography is mostly hilly and mountainous, and its splendid winemaking potential testifies to the enduring validity of Virgil’s dictum, “apertos Bacchus amat colles” (‘Bacchus loves the open hills’). True enough, Campania’s volcanic soil (this is home to Vesuvius, Pompeii, Roccamonfina!) is superbly suited to such venerable vines as Aglianico (from the Latin Hellenicus, “Greek”, for the grape was first introduced by the ancient Greeks). The Romans in their heyday enjoyed and admired the fine local wines. In the wake of Phylloxera, however, which destroyed some 95% of the vineyards, goneby glories seemed mostly forgotten... Until one or two producers led the way to a present-day Renaissance. One such vanguard grower is Silvia Imparato of Montevetrano fame – the recipient of ELEVEN (!) Tre Bicchieri (Gambero Rosso’s much-coveted, rarely awarded top score) and countless other accolades. Montevetrano’s date of birth is 1985 and it was… an unplanned baby. In Silvia’s words, “we started off with no particular ambition except sharing our passion for fine wines with a few friends. We top-grafted superior clones of Aglianico, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot onto previously extant vines. (At the time, we were great fans of Bordeaux…) Imagine our surprise when Montevetrano turned out to be much, much better than we’d ever dreamed of. At this point, one of the best winemakers in Italy, Riccardo Cotarella, agreed to join our tight-knit little team. 1993 was the first vintage officially released.” Today, the estate covers 64 acres (26 ha.), 12.4 of which (5 ha.) under Guyot-trained vine at an average altitude of 330 feet above sea level between the medieval castle of Montevetrano, a chestnut grove and the family home. Ringed by the Picentini mountains that shelter the vineyards, Montevetrano also enjoys the beneficial influence of the sea. The combination provides a mild, well ventilated microclimate. This, together with the superb hillside soil (mixed clayey-calcareous, with abundant scheletro, i.e. particles measuring over 2 mm. or 0.078 inches), SW exposure, attentive vineyard management, supply all the prerequisites of excellence.
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