Feb 15, 2012

2008 Mastroberardino Campania Aglianico

Not having touched a golf club in months, I was not very happy to learn of my brother's recent golf trip to Naples to play Old Collier. Rather than wallow in self pity, I thought that I would go to the wine shop and drown in it instead! I tried some free association to get my mind off of it and remembered that Naples was the capital of Campania. Aglianico is the predominant grape of the region and, low and behold, a new Chairman's Selection was staring me in the face: 2008 Mastroberardino Aglianico. The choice was obvious!

This week's pick is available for $15.99, a pretty decent discount from the widely available internet price.

Review

Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. This same theory can be extended to events which is what I attempted to do in justifying this week's pick. My brother (1st intermediary) was golfing in Naples, Florida (2nd intermediary) which derived its name from Naples, Italy (3rd intermediary) which is the capital of Campania (4th intermediary) where the primary varietal Aglianico (5th intermediary) is grown. So, as you can see, I had no choice but to grab a bottle of the 2008 Mastroberardino Aglianico to complete the association.

Aglianico wines are typically full bodied, with firm tannins and a fair amount of acidity, making them good companions for beef and veal dishes. The color is typically a deep garnet with aromas of plum, chocolate and maybe a hint of tobacco. Being a bit on the young side, I opened this wine and let it breath a bit. This really helped to open the wine up and soften it, I rather enjoyed the first glass and, after the second, found it reminded me of a young Amarone.

So, next time, try a little free association: you'll never know where six degrees might take you.

What Others Thought

While "Aglianico" was not previously in many people's wine vocabulary, a few assured me it was now a "welcome addition". Since you typically only find Chianti Classico at this price point, some were "thrilled" to find an Italian offering in our state store system that was "a bit out of the ordinary".

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