Cantine dell'Angelo "Miniere Riserva" 2020 Greco di Tufo Campania

750ml bottle

12.5% abv

"...a beautiful golden color with elegance, plenty of acidity; ripe, tender, citrusy lusciousness, and a firm, completely mineral-packed finish. This is a full-bodied white..."

• Vineyards are located in the commune of Tufo
• Grapes are harvested and sorted by hand
• Grapes are not de-stemmed
• No sulfur added after harvest (only before bottling)
• Fermentation with indigenous yeasts
• Fermentation lasts 15 – 30 days
• Malolactic fermentation takes place spontaneously depending on the vintage
• Wine ages in stainless steel tank for 8 – 12 months on its lees
• Wine ages in bottle for 3 – 6 months
• No fining or clarification; wine instead racked from its lees four times before bottling

While Angelo Muto comes from a family of winemakers, he is the first to estate-bottle. His five hectares of Greco vineyards sit around the small village of Tufo, center of the Greco di Tufo appellation—the smallest of Campania’s four DOCGs—tucked into a picturesque landscape of rolling hills inland of bustling Naples. Greco, an ancient varietal that found its way to southern Italy from Greece long ago, expresses its full structural and aromatic potential in the volcanic soils that give Tufo its name. These soils offer a complex assortment of minerals to feed the vines: atop the bedrock of volcanic tufo lies a mix of clay and limestone with chunks of chalk, quartz, and yellow striations of elemental sulfur.

Angelo’s flagship parcel is in fact situated directly atop an abandoned sulfur mine, on a very steep slope at high altitude. The vineyards are worked entirely by hand, as much a result of the significant grade as it is Angelo’s determination to bring out the best in his land. He refuses to treat his vines with herbicides or pesticides, proudly pointing out the abundant grasses, wildflowers, and butterflies prospering amid the rows of Greco.

Similarly, he allows indigenous yeasts present in the vineyards to carry out fermentation, after which the wine ages in tank on its lees with little manipulation save racking and a light filtration prior to bottling. Angelo’s commitment to traditional production methods, along with input from his like-minded friend and enologist, Luigi Sarno (see Cantina del Barone), allows for a classic rendition of this unique white wine. His Greco di Tufo is a beautiful golden color with elegance, plenty of acidity; ripe, tender, citrusy lusciousness, and a firm, completely mineral-packed finish. This is a full-bodied white—Greco is often referred to as ‘a red dressed as a white’—that is excellent in its youth alongside all sorts of cuisine, with the potential to age well in good vintages.