Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG Basilicata's Volcanic Red Wine, Explained

Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG is produced in fifteen communes of Potenza province in Basilicata, on and around the extinct volcano of Mount Vulture. The main villages are Rionero in Vulture, Barile, Rapolla, Venosa and Melfi.

It is a 100% Aglianico red. The disciplinare allows no other variety, and the wine is bottled exclusively from grapes grown in the fifteen approved communes around Mount Vulture.

Superiore is aged at least 36 months before release, including 12 months in wood and 12 months in bottle. Riserva is aged at least 60 months, including 24 months in wood and 12 months in bottle.

Both are 100% Aglianico from the same fifteen communes. The Superiore DOCG carries stricter rules: minimum 13.5% alcohol, lower yields, longer ageing and a tasting commission test before bottling. The wines are typically richer and built for longer cellaring.

Top examples drink well from eight to twelve years and can hold for twenty years or more. The volcanic acidity and firm tannin structure carry the wine through long bottle development, when sour cherry softens into leather and tobacco.

Match it with slow-cooked Lucanian and Mediterranean cuisine. Lamb agnello al forno, baccalà al ragù, pasta with Senise pepper-laced ragù, aged caciocavallo podolico and grilled red meats all hold up to its tannin and depth.