Each month, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious, top-value 'Special Italian Wine' for you to enjoy at home – or in your Abruzzo villa for two.

Taurasi 'Radici' DOCG. Mastroberardino. 2005

Taurasi is the wine that finally dispelled the old myth that no Italian red wine of any note is produced south of Tuscany.

Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata is good; Taurasi, from neighboring Campania and also made from the aglianico grape, is better. Much better.

Taurasi owes its name to the region where it's produced within Campania and this particular offering comes from the Mastroberardino winery that for years, practically single-handed, carried the banner of Campania wines into the worldwide market.

Taurasi was awarded DOCG status in the early 1990s and since then, its popularity – especially outside Italy – has soared, with a corresponding hike in prices.

It's not a wine for the faint-hearted. Rich, powerful and profound. Think of a kind of southern Barolo and you won't be far wide of the mark.

Scents of mulberries and black pepper provided the initial impression. The first taste was tannic – a legacy of the 18 months this wine spent in oak before bottling. It really will repay decanting a couple of hours before drinking to soften the edges a little and this bottle of the (pretty good) 2005 vintage could quite easily have lain in a rack improving for at least a couple more years before opening.

Once those tannins have been allowed to mellow a little, you're left with a wine that simply improves with every sip. That first impression of mulberries and pepper developing with hints of dark chocolate and wild mushrooms and lingering with a long, dry finish.

Definitely not a wine to drink on its own. Definitely a wine to partner roast meat and rich braises. Or in this particular instance, a perfect medium-rare sirloin steak. With chips. (And why not ?)

Once upon a time, Taurasi was a pretty decent – and much cheaper – 'secret' alternative to Barolo. The best Barolo still fetches nose-bleedingly high prices both retail and restaurant, but lower down the pecking order, prices between the two wines is now much of a muchness.

It basically comes down to personal preference, but if you haven't yet tried Taurasi on the basis of an unbroken loyalty to Barolo, give it a try – and do it soon.

At A Glance…

• This month's Special Italian wine: Taurasi 'Radici'
• Vintage: 2005
• Designation: DOCG
• Grape: 100% Aglianico
• Strength: 13.5%
• Closure: Cork
• Producer: Mastoberardino
• Website: www.mastroberardino.com/eng/index.asp
• This bottle cost: €21

Next Month…
We're staying in Campania to revisit the region's best white wine Fiano di Avellino DOCG. And with a specific question in mind. Can a bottle of this wine from a cut-price supermarket chain possibly compare with another costing virtually twice as much ? Is it really a wine you'll enjoy drinking in your Abruzzo villa for two – or one to forget ?

This entry was posted on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Eating and Drinking, Special Italian Wine, Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.