TN: 1995 Mastro Taurasi Radici

[davidbdesilva]

Just had an extremely lovely 1995 Mastrobernardino (sp?) Taurasi Radici, a beautiful Italian red with an explosion of fruit and just the right amount on tannins. It was the highlight of our meal (which was at Umbria in Philly, a longtime fav of ours but somewhat dissappointing this time). Unfortunately, it is priced ($25-30) so that I cannot afford to keep morte than one in my cellar at a time. Can anyone steer me to affordable ($15 range?) Taurasi's of this quality, or is this unrealistic? This type of wine, IMHO, proves the quality of wine that the Italians are capable of making and, again IMHO, makes French wines seem a bit boring.

[Carema]

The grape that makes Taurasi is Aglianico. So why don't you go in search of an Agianico del Vulture (a DOC) from Basilicata or a Falerno Del Massico ( another DOC) from Campania? Villa Matilde makes a nice one that retails for about $17.95 (in some markets). The importer is winebow (www.winebow.com). I am sure they would be happy to give you retail advice for your area. Hope this helped. And BTW- if you got a Taurasi on a restaurant list for $25.00 that is a smashing good deal. Cheers!!!

[davidbdesilva]

Thanks for the excellent advice. I do like Aglianico del Vulture very much and hadn't thought about that. No, I did not get the Mastro Taurasi for that price at a restaurant. It was a BYOB and I brought it from home (got it at a Pa. specialty store for I think about $28). I'm SURE this would be in the $60-80 price range at a restaurant, if not higher, that's why I love BYOB's so much.

[andrea]

Aglianico del Vulture by D'Angelo is a good example of Aglianico, not as structured as the Radici, for 7 € here in Italy, they also make a selection called Canneto which should sell below 20 $ and it's very good and a long ager too, not really your fruit bomb, much more meaty, earthy, very much terroir driven.

BTW I'm surprised you define "an explosion of fruit" a '95 Radici, I expect it to be much more focused on tertiary notes than on fruit.

The basic Villa Matilde Falerno del Massico is a good Aglianico, though a bit oaky, they make a selection, called Vigna Camarato which is a rich, opulent, concentrated oaky mess, especially after '98, big wine, but not a good example of Aglianico.