The wine

So much of Basilicata is wild and uninhabited that the winemaking areas are rather spread out from each other, meaning each has a kind of unimpeachable individuality of its own – and of nowhere is this more true than the jewel in the region’s crown, the Aglianico del Vulture. Based near the border with Campania around an inactive volcano, the Vulture, which peaks at 1326m, although the area encompasses seven hills in total, half surrounding two lakes. Volcanic terrain is often excellent for viticulture, while the presence of clay helps with water retention in this particularly dry region. Aglianico can be a finicky vine, as the neighbouring region of Campania can attest, but it thrives in this environment.

The top wine is the Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG. The wine must be 100% aglianico, from vines no less than 200m up the slope, and aged for no less than a year in oak, and the riserva no less than two years. The resulting wine is brooding, complex, with good fruit but also savoury, iron-like notes, tobacco, coffee, autumn leaves, all sorts, with the riservas offering especial spice kicks and depths.

The regular Aglianico del Vulture DOC is wonderful value, too. Aglianico is an extremely versatile grape, capable of lightness as well as brambly depths. In Vulture, the wines tend to be in the middle, with really quite tangy acidity married to a quite profound berry fruit which make for remarkably light-footed food-matchers.

The wine of Basilicata doesn’t stop here, however – indeed, the wine of Vulture doesn’t even stop here! For a start, there are three other DOCs in the region: Grottino di Roccanova DOC, Matera DOC, and Terre dell’Alta Val d’Agri. 

Grottino di Roccanova, in the western province of Potenza, makes both reds and white, the reds blending sangiovese with cabernet sauvignon, malvasia nera, and montepulciano, the whites varietals of malvasia bianca. The rosso tends to be a medium-bodied wine with relatively high acidity thanks to the sangiovese, with producers these days favouring blends which emphasise tannins as well; the whites, from malvasia, tend to be soft, nutty, and perfumed.

Matera, based around the town which is towards the Pugliese border of the eastern province, also makes both reds and whites. The Rosso DOC label is a fresh, vibrant, smoky blend of principally sangiovese, together with primitivo and smaller percentages of other grapes; there is also the dense, resinous Primitivo DOC from at least 90% of that grape (as well as a Rosato and a Primitivo Passito dessert wine, with the same percentages) and the Matera Moro DOC (which also has a Riserva version) making punchy, Bordeaux-like blends from predominantly cabernet sauvignon. The whites are the fragrant Matera DOC Bianco based on 85% malvasia, Matera DOC Greco (85% greco grape, a floral, creamy variety), and the Matera DOC Bianco Passito, a sweet, malvasia-based dessert wine. It’s also the home of some of the region’s most refreshing Spumante wines.

The final DOC is the Terre dell’Alta Val d’Agri in Potenza, near the Calabrian border. This small, rather extraordinary zone makes only red (and a little rosé) from a quite strange combination. In essence, they are equivalents of the Super Tuscans – Super Lucanicans, if you like – blending together the Bordeaux grapes of cabernet sauvignon and merlot with a local favourite, malvasia nera, often to boost the acidity closer to the southern Italian palate. The final wines are very particular, a really unique expression of cabernet sauvignon in particular, with really dry tannins and balanced, judicious fruit.

But in many ways the excitement at the minute in Basilicata is being generated by IGTs, not least in Vulture itself where the Bianco del Vulture IGT is making some excellent malvasia, moscato, and even efforts at vinifying aglianico as a white wine! On the red side, Rosso del Vulture IGT has been especially successful when incorporating montepulciano and bombino nero.

As in many other fields, the wine of Basilicata is just starting to swim into view after being somewhat overlooked for a long time. Buoyed by the undeniable star-power of its DOCG, the region is rewarding the extra attention being paid to it with some fascinating, unique, and innovative wines, expressive of a terroir and a tradition like no other.