The wines of Feudi di San Gregorio, Campania, Italy
Website: https://www.feudi.it/en
Feudi di San Gregorio are one of the leading producers in Italy’s Campania region. Founded in the mid-1980s, they’ve been protecting and rediscovering key indigenous grapes. Varied soils, and altitude between 350-600 m, gives them ample room to experiment. They describe themselves as being ‘between the world of art and wine’, which is quite a statement, but their packaging has a lovely artistic sensibility to it. Based in the south of Italy, temperatures are moderated here by location: they are situated in Irpinia, a historical region of the Campanian Apennines, with plenty of rainfall, keeping things green. Feudi di San Gregorio have grown big (300 hectares of vines) but their focus on local grape varieties has served them well. These are really good wines. Notes are from Jamie Goode (JG) and Treve Ring (TR).
Feudi di San Gregorio Cutizzi Greco di Tufo 2020 Campania, Italy
13% alcohol. Distincively packaged in a ridged bottle, this is a really fresh stainless-steel fermented and aged white with lovely focused, fresh citrus fruit with a stony, mineral edge and some nice textural elements. It’s aromatic, fruit-driven and has a nice crisp, slightly spicy finish. Sophisticated, restrained and quite mineral. 91/100 (JG)
Feudi di San Gregorio Serrocielo Falanghina del Sannio 2020 Campania, Italy
13% alcohol. Fresh, with some dissolved carbon dioxide adding to this impression, this is a lively, transparent lemon and green apple fruited white with a sense of delicacy and restraint. But there’s a real elegance and lightness to this wine, which has a distinctive fruit-led and mineral-supported personality. 91/100 (JG)
Feudi di San Gregorio Serrocielo Falanghina del Sannio 2016 Campania, Italy
This falanghina grows in Campania’s volcanic, sandstone, and marl hills of Sorbo Serpico, not far from Mount Vesuvius. This was fermented and aged in stainless, where it remained on lees for 5 months. Deep yellow in hue, this leads with meadow grass, Bosc pear, subtle honeysuckle, bitter lemon, on an expansive, wider palate, moderate in acidity, but with ample buzzy minerality laced throughout, and hovering on the lengthy finish. 89/100 (TR)
Feudi Di San Gregorio Albente 2020 Campania, Italy
Albente is entirely Falanghina, an ancient variety known to the Romans, and grown on the chalky soils around Tufo. A short stint in stainless steel preserves the bright fruit and gets it ready to market quickly. Intense with the southern Italian sun, yet lifted by altitude, soils, and smart picking decisions, this streams perfumed Bosc pear, lemon blossom, green fig, marcona almond along a bright, silken lees palate. Though only 12.5%, this has presence. 91/100 (TR)
Feudi Di San Gregorio Taurasi 2015 Campania, Italy
14% alcohol. Aglianico is the variety here, and it spends 18 months in barrel. It’s a really bright, fresh, detailed red with black cherries, some maraschino cherries, a touch of plum and raspberry, and then some savoury, slightly leathery character, with waxy notes as well as some tannic grip. Such a bright, focused and elegant expression of Aglianico showing finesse and potential for development. 92/100 (£25 The Wine Place) (JG)
Feudi di San Gregorio Rubrato Aglianico 2018 Campania, Italy
Wild cherry, dark plum and blackberries coarse through this fresh, bright Aglianico, from deep ash and pomice soils at 300-400m in southern Italy’s Campania. This wisely preserved freshness comes from a ferment and aging stint entirely in stainless. Wild flowers, sap, thorns season the palate, with tannins fine and nubby, housing this to a wild flower and saline finish. This has all of aglianico’s impact, with the freshness of youth, altitude, and soils. Drinking beautifully now. 90/100 (TR)
Feudi Di San Gregorio Piano di Montevergine 2007 Campania, Italy
This Taurasi Riserva Piano di Montevergine is from the vineyard of the same name, symbolic of Feudi di San Gregorio. Here 70-80 year old aglianico vines grow around 400m, facing south, on deep soils layered with ash, pumice and silty sand. After fermentation and three weeks maceration, the wine is pressed and aged for 18 months in medium toasted new French barriques, followed by a further 2 years in bottle prior to release. Though 13 years old, this is most certainly still alive, with a bead of persistent acidity driving through layers of worn leather, dried violets, thorns, dried cherry, pipe tobacco, and wild cassis compote. The palate is big and full, plush and textured with tufted velvet. Tannins are still ample, but thankfully worn with time, leaving more a fuzzy cedar grip in their wake, lingering very long on the palate. A lovely chance to taste aglicanico aging so well. Ideal decanted with wild mushroom risotto or wild boar. 92/100 (TR)
Feudi Di San Gregorio Stupore Bolgheri Campo Alle Comete 2015 Maremma, Italy
Campo Alle Comete is a fairly new acquisition into the Feudi Di San Gregorio portfolio, acquired in early 2016. It is nestled at the foot of Castagneto Carducci, in province of Livorno, and marked the winery’s expansion into Maremma. The wine is a Bolgheri DOC blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot that were vinified by the former owner and assembled by the new Campo alle Comete team. Big, soft, plush and ripe with blackberry, cassis, worn suede, dark cocoa, and potent currents of anise. There’s a medicinal kirsch undercurrent, sides of velvet tannins, and moderate acidity on a textural palate, all of which pulls this wine heavier than the 13.5 degrees declared would suggest. Certainly a worthy contender for big meaty stews. Looking forward to seeing what the team does with this property going forward. 89/100 (TR)
