Like many Italian regions, Campania is home to an impressive array of grape varieties, some found almost nowhere else on earth. Its most important variety is arguably Aglianico, the grape behind the region’s two most famous and respected red wines: Taurasi and Aglianico del Taburno.
Score: 94Vintage 2022James SucklingA modern wine with a classic profile and four-square structure. Plums. cassis, fresh figs, camphor and toast on the nose. Full-bodied, it displays velvety tannins, salted chocolate flavors, lifted acidity and a sticky finish. Drink or hold.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 92Vintage 2022Wine SpectatorTaut and structured, with a core of chalky tannins enmeshed with flavors of black cherry coulis, espresso, medicinal herbs and black licorice string, plus a touch of toast. Showing depth of flavor and fresh focus, this red should expand nicely with short-term cellaring or decanting. Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico and Merlot. Best from 2028 through 2037. 1,500 cases made, 250 cases imported.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 96Vintage 2021James SucklingThis 30th anniversary bottling is a creamy, polished and fragrant red showing ripe plum, cherry, lavender, vanilla and sweet cocoa aromas. It’s full-bodied with broad and encompassing tannins, yet remains elegant and beautifully balanced. Lightly chalky in texture. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, aglianico and merlot. Best from 2026.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2021VinousA total seductress, the 2021 Montevetrano impresses first with a vivid burst of crushed raspberry backed by a dusting of cocoa, sweet sage, pipe tobacco and lavender pastille. It's elegant in feel, with textures of pure silk and polished red fruits that ride a stream of brisk acidity as hints of citrus pinch at the cheeks and violet inner florals arch across the palate. Sweet tannins frame the finish beautifully as the 2021 tapers off with outstanding length and concentration, showing an inner harmony that guarantees over a decade of positive evolution. This has found a lovely balance with further bottle age.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2021Vinous MediaThe 2021 Montevetrano is youthfully poised yet irresistible, with a bouquet of dried black cherries, cedary spice and hints of mint cascading up from the glass. This is cool-toned in feel, with silky textures and a wave of ripe red and blue fruits that swirls beneath an air of violets and lavender. It finishes fresh and classically structured, leaving spicy oak and a tart cranberry crunch to linger on. While warm, the 2021 vintage benefitted from rains in mid-August that brought much cooler conditions throughout the remainder of the season.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 94Vintage 2021The Wine Advocate Now celebrating its 30th anniversary (1991 to 2021), the 2021 Montevetrano is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot with fruit from a five-hectare parcel on clay soils that add to the fruit weight and definition of this headlining wine. The results are inky dark in concentration with blackberry, fruit preserves and a hint of sweet apricot. On second nose, you get tarry resin and spice. The wine is certainly rich, but it is not heavy, and its surprisingly less-than-full-bodied approach offers respite to the palate. I like the general accessibility and elegant darkness of this wine, which numbers 16,800 bottles in this vintage.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2021Wine SpectatorA classy red, with black currant and black cherry fruit flavors that are ripe and vibrant, while a dark, rich undertow of fig cake, mocha, graphite and smoke also chimes in. Shows good focus and length in a sleek, balanced style, with fine-grained, supple tannins firming the well-spiced, lasting finish. Aglianico, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot . Drink now through 2034. 3,333 cases made, 400 cases imported.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 97Vintage 2020James SucklingI love the nose and it makes me think of Campania with its crushed stone, pumice, blackberry, and cracked pepper. Some tar. The palate is full-bodied with polished and fine tannins that are chewy and give structure to this young wine. It lasts a very long time on the palate. Smokey and ashy at the end. Drink after 2025.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2020Wine SpectatorAn elegant red, with a ripe, appealing dark core of blackberry compote, black plum reduction, licorice, tea leaf and dried mint flavors. Shows a frame of plush tannins and sleek acidity that's supple and well-meshed, while the finish reveals persistent hints of mineral, tobacco and ground coffee. Lovely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico and Merlot. Drink now through 2035. 1,000 cases made, 200 cases imported.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 94Vintage 2020Vinous MediaThe 2020 Montevetrano is remarkably pretty, wafting up with a rose-tinged array of black cherries, exotic spices and cedar shavings, complicated by hints of balsam herbs. This is a total pleasure on the palate, velvety in texture yet lifted in feel with depths of dark red fruits and tactile mineral tones. A collection of fine tannins amasses toward the close. It finishes long and classically structured, with a pleasantly bitter tinge that puckers the cheeks and a bump of residual acidity that keeps the mouth watering for more. The 2020 is supremely elegant yet refined. It’s geared up for a long, steady evolution.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2019Vinous MediaThe 2019 Montevetrano captivates with a rich mix of brown spice, tobacco, rum-soaked cherries, menthol and mint. This is classy and polished, with textures of pure silk and a massive core of dark red and black fruits that slowly saturate the palate. The 2019 finishes classically dry and incredibly long, leaving fine-grained tannins framing wild blueberry and sage nuances. What a beauty. Cellaring will be required to unlock all of its charms. The 2019 Montevetrano is a beautifully composed blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 95Vintage 2019Wine AdvocateThis is one of the icon wines of southern Italy. It maintains its timeless nature throughout the years, in good vintages and in bad. The 2019 Montevetrano embraces the radiance and elegance of the very good vintage this was in Campania, with cool nights, good moisture and average summer temperatures. The blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot sourced from a five-hectare site with clay soils. Some 20,000 bottles are made. The bouquet reveals dark cherry and black plum with baker's chocolate and exotic spice. There is an especially black fruit quality that is almost tarry from the Aglianico, and that grape really pops from the blend, as it should, since this is one of the original "super Campania" wines.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2019Wine SpectatorA bold red, with lush layers of blackberry reduction and crème de cassis enriched by toasty smoke and tarry mineral threads. Features fine-grained, well-knit tannins that provide sculpted structure, with fragrant black licorice, fig cake and wild sage notes lingering on the chewy finish. Aglianico. Best from 2023 through 2029. 1,000 cases made, 200 cases imported.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 97Vintage 2018James SucklingA red with plum and cherry character with hints of bark, mushroom and clove. It’s full-bodied with layers of fruit and a long, flavorful finish. Needs time to soften, but structured and beautiful. Such finesse with strength. Really impressive. Try after 2022.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 94Vintage 2018Wine SpectatorA suave, full-bodied red, with plush tannins firming the rich blackberry coulis and blueberry fruit. It's layered and harmonious, with hints of bay leaf, graphite and mineral unfurling on the palate and through to the racy finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico and Merlot. Drink now through 2033. 1,300 cases made, 397 cases imported.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 93Vintage 2018Vinous MediaThere’s a decidedly floral and spicy character to the 2018 Montevetrano (Colli di Salerno) that captivates the senses and pulls you close to the glass. Its fruit is more lifted and high-toned than usual, as blackberries mix with currants and crushed violets. A wave of stone dust and minerals translates directly from the nose to the palate, as its initially-silky textures are quickly firmed up by a core of strict acidity and grippy tannins that settle in toward the close. This is incredibly long but also achingly structured, currently holding back much of its fruit, and instead showing inner rose tones and hints of black tea. The 2018 will require a number of years to fully blossom; yet once it does, you can expect a very pretty and perfumed vintage of Montevetrano. This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 92Vintage 2014VinousThe 2014 Montevetrano is a more forward and linear rendition, yet still pleasurable. Minty herbs, raspberry and molten chocolate form its bouquet. The palate is round, nearly fleshy yet not quite, with a core of tart red berry fruits and a cascade of autumnal spice. Sweet tannin mingles with a hint of blood orange and clove through the long yet gently structured finale. The 2014 is in a lovely place and ready to enjoy, with several years of balanced drinking ahead.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 94Vintage 2013VinousThe 2013 Montevetrano pulls the taster close to take in its herbal-inflected bouquet, mixing sage and lavender with wet stones and crushed blackberries. More compact than expected, it remains youthfully tense, with tart red berry fruits that saturate as edgy tannins build and brisk acidity maintains freshness. Still structured and incredibly long, it leaves a chewy sensation and mineral intensity that pinches at the cheeks while nuances of black currant fade. The 2013 continues to mature in bottle, with many years of positive evolution in store. It's a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Score: 96Vintage 2007VinousDespite the stereotype of the vintage being a warm season, the 2007 Montevetrano shows no signs of over-ripeness. It is cool-toned and classic. Mentholated herbs, nuances of cacao, coffee grinds, dried cherries and invigorating hints of blood orange create a stimulating bouquet. Silken textures sweep across the palate, nearly creamy in feel, but a core of vibrant acidity balances as crisp red berry fruits cascade throughout. Gentle tannins and a pleasantly bitter note linger incredibly long, leaving hints of tart blackberry and dark chocolate.Shelf TalkerFull Page Review
Subscribe to Our Mailing List
Sign up for our mailing list to keep up with our latest news, events, and tastings!
