Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero 2001

[DCMark]

Ok, on honeymoon in Italy 2003 (Positano) we had a bottle recommended by the owner of a great local family place. Vestini Campagnano Pallagrellio Nero 2001. LOVED IT. Picked up a bottle a a local wine store.

Does anyone know about this wine? Its from Campania which think is a really under-valued region in Italy. I know the Pallagrellio is the grape variety, perhaps originally from Greece. A nice strong, deep and complex wine (its been a while since I tried it).

Ok, back in the US, I can find almost no mention of this on the net. Finally found online at Sam's Wine in Chicago and Italian Wine Merchant in NYC. The price shocked me $60 a bottle. I am not one to judge wine on its price, but $60 is not a cheap bottle. Ended up ordering 4 bottles for nostalgia sake.

Anyone have this wine or know anything about it?

From the NYT:

Another producer, Vestini Campagnano, specializes in little-known indigenous grapes like casavecchia and pallagrello, which in its bianco form makes soft, supple white, and in its nero form makes powerhouse reds. By many estimates the older vineyards of Campania and Basilicata hold dozens of grape varieties waiting to be rediscovered

[Brad Ballinger]

You may have seen this web page already and perhaps this one, too, which has prices included. And then they have their own web site.

There are a wide variety of factors that can affect the price of a bottle of wine. I noted that production of the Pallagrella Nero was 8500 (cases), so it's not that the production is miniscule. But perhaps only a small amount is imported. I also read that the production was a "project" that began in 1990. Depending on how large a cash outlay was needed to bring these indigenous grapes back to prominence, that could play a part. Also, the wine could just be damn good, commanding a price the market will bear. Campania may be undervalued, but apparently this wine is not.

I vacationed on the Amalfi Coast in 2000 and had a chance to try many of the local wines (the majority of which I could never hope to find in the U.S.). But I didn't come across this one. There were incredbily good ones for what was under two dollars American given the exchange rate back then.

Campania, as a region, is one where many indigenous grapes are being preserved and made into wonderful wines.

[DCMark]

Thank you for your response which sounds very plausable. This is a 'botique' winery ala California, run by two lawyers.

The wine was great and they are bringing back some rare grapes. For that $60 per is well spent!