Mastroberardino Radici Fiano di Avellino 2005
Fiano is likely a grape variety that you’ve never heard of. Grown primarily in the Campania region of Italy, this grape is known to have good structure and a relatively thick texture. This wine is produced by the Campanian producer that makes one of my favourite red wines: Mastroberardino’s 1999 Taurasi Riserva. Grown in sandy soil in the Fiano di Avellino DOCG, this Fiano is made from the grapes of 10 year old vines, vinified in stainless steel tanks and aged briefly in bottle before release.
This is the sort of wine that would be extremely difficult to place at a blind tasting – it defies easy description and evaluation. That said, I’d attempt a description by noting its austere structure, terse aromatics but dense and nutty palate. There is also a great deal of acidity in the wine and some pleasing aromas and tastes of flowers and honey. I feel as though the wine exhibits some symptoms of oxidation, though it could be the severity of the tannin or astringency in the wine that makes me think of this – though I would not go so far as to call this character off-putting.
In the end, I think this is worth a try, though it does not quite compare to the Greco from the same producer, which is more expressive.
Very Good+
$30 (on sale from $42) at Kitsilano Wine Cellars
Sean
June 14, 2010
Interesting. I saw this at Kits when I was in the other day. I’ll have to give this and the Greco a go when I get back in Vancouver (if they still have any).
Shea
June 14, 2010
You’ll have to let me know what you think – they are interesting wines.