Disclaimer: I received this bottle of wine, next to a few others, as a sample from Feudi di San Gregorio at Slow Wine 2013 in Munich. I reviewed the wine with my honest assessment. Slow Wine is a wine fair organized by Slow Food. If you are not familiar with Slow Food and the Slow Food Movement then read this post first.

The first wine from the fair that I wrote about was Donnafugata’s Ben Rye. If you missed out on this must-try wine then you can find the tasting notes for it here.

Feudi di San Gregorio

For quite some time, Feudi di San Gregorio has been one of my favorite wineries from Campania, Italy for white wine. The winery, which refers to themselves as a company, produces around 4.000.000 bottles per year. So if you thought that we are talking about a small, traditional winery then I have to disappoint you. Feudi makes 27 different wines from a variety of grapes including Greco, Fiano and Falanghina (all white) as well as Aglianico and Primitivo (both red). The winery has its headquarter in the province of Avellino and was founded in 1986 by two families.

Taurasi

Taurasi is a town and comune in Campania with a population of just 2500 inhabitants. Nevertheless, this small town is famous throughout the world for a red wine, which is also known as Taurasi. The city has lots of history and one of its first mentions date back to the year 268 BC, when the Romans destroyed the city, which was called Taurasia back then, for the first time.

Wine making has a long tradition in Taurasi and today it is the town’s most important branch of trade. The wine Taurasi is one of of four DOCG wines from Campania. It has to be produced with at least 85% Aglianico grapes and the wine has to age at least three years.

One of the reasons why I love Italy is because of it’s beautiful landscape. Take a look at these pictures taken in the province of Avellino (near the town of Taurasi)

Tasting notes Feudi ‘Taurasi’

Time to actually talk about the ‘Taurasi’ – Taurasi DOCG from Feudi di San Gregorio. The wine is produced with 100% Aglianico grapes. ‘Taurasi’ aged 18 months in small barrique barrels and at least 12 months in the bottle (remember the wine has to age a minimum of three years).

In the glass, the ‘Taurasi’ had a bright ruby red color with garnet red reflections. The bouquet consisted of vanilla, caramel, sour cherry, nutmeg and anise. This is not your typical Southern Italian bouquet but these aromas are often found in Aglianico wines like Taurasi DOCG and Aglianico del Vulture DOCG. I wished the wine would have had a few more fruit aromas.

After taking a sip, I noticed pleasingly, mellow tannins. The wine was medium-bodied and well-balanced. ‘Taurasi’ had a nice minerality but the finish was not that long.

The wine can be paired well with all types of grilled and roasted red meat. I think that especially women will like this red wine because it is not too heavy. At least that was my impression from the Slow Wine 2013 wine fair. In Munich the wine retails for 19.50€. 

To buy or not to buy?

I gave this wine a 3.5/5 rating so I recommend trying it. If you do not remember how the wine rating system from Vino in Love works then follow this link I thought about giving it a 4/5 but I found the finish to be too short and I missed some more fruit aromas. Nevertheless I will try this wine again. 

Did you know that a different wine from Feudi di San Gregorio is in my current top 10? Feudi’s Greco di Tufo DOCG is outstanding

Photo Credits: Valley of the wines by Hank Hirschfeld with a CC 2.0 license a me piacciono i raggi di sole by  grazie davero with a CC 2.0 license Irpinia’s fantasy landscape by Phlegrean with a CC 2.0 license Torella dei Lombardi #4 by Chiara Marra with a CC 2.0 license

One of my upcoming wine reviews will take us back to Sicily where I’ll talk about Mille e una Notte, a prestigious wine from Donnafugata. Furthermore, I wanted to let you know that I am collaborating with Suzanne from apuginthekitchen on a dessert and wine pairing posts. So stay tuned for that as well.

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