2021 Elena Fucci Aglianico del Vulture Titolo

17+ Points, Walter Speller (Jancis Robinson) – “Deep, lustrous, very youthful crimson. Beautifully perfumed raspberry and dark-cherry nose with touches of oak and minerally iron notes. Elegant, fragrant red fruit, with a firm but ripe bite of tannins that demand more time. Super-elegant finish that is richly textured by the tannins and leaving a medium-bodied impression. This will need at least another year to settle.”

94+ Points, Monica Larner (Wine Advocate) – “Now that Elena Fucci's portfolio of wines is becoming more comprehensive (growing from one wine to four with a rosé, an amphorae-aged wine and a second Aglianico called Sceg), she has come to call this wine her "classico" expression. Indeed, the 2021 Aglianico del Vulture Titolo is classic Elena Fucci and is the wine you should buy if you love her signature style. It opens to sweet aromas that come from the velvety ripeness of the fruit but also from careful oak aging. Baked plum, rum cake and dried trial mix with honey granola appear on the bouquet. Titolo finishes very long and is driven by acidic freshness and a grippy quality of tannins that is typical of this grape. In this case, the tannins are not too dry, and there is enough power to drive future bottle evolution.”

94 Points, Eric Guido (Galloni) – “The 2021 Aglianico del Vulture Classico Titolo is impossible to ignore with a classic bouquet that blends tart black fruits and citrus tones with exotic spices, incense and crushed ashen stone. Seamless and silky in feel, this is elegant to the core. Crisp red and black berries cascade across a mix of tactile mineral tones and zesty acidity. It's only through the finish where its tannins make themselves known, crunchy and edgy, yet somehow perfect freshness is maintained. The 2021 tapers off with licorice and sage nuances. This racy rendition of Titolo impresses on so many levels.”

In 2000, Elena Fucci was in her second year of university when her family decided to sell their property on Monte Vulture in Basilicata.  Home to some of the oldest Aglianico vines that had been in her family for generations, Elena couldn’t bear the thought of her childhood home, surrounded by vineyards and olive trees, in the hands of someone else. She abandoned her studies, returned home and set about learning to make wine.

She called her wine Titolo, after the name of the lava channel that ran through the property. Titolo became a modern Italian classic, and has been awarded 19 straight Tre Bicchieri awards since the 2005 vintage. She helped lead a revival of the sometimes forgotten grapes and regions of southern Italy, and inspired a generation of women in wine. The 2021 is superb.