1992 Salvatore Molettieri Taurasi Vigna Cinque Querce

There is perhaps no producer more traditional than Molettieri when it comes to Taurasi. This wine is 100% Aglianico grown in the Taurasi area of Montemarano (in my books, a grand cru for Taurasi), a town located at a coolish 800 meters above sea level and named after Mario Egnazio, a soldier who long held off the invading Roman armies (its original name was in fact Mons Maranus, or the mountain of Mario). Aged in large used oak barrels, this wine is always big, rich and deep, revealing pure red cherry and smoky Aglianico fruit aromas and flavors that last and last. This is also true of this 1992, a so-so vintage that gives a good measure of this estate’s greatness (in fact, this is not the Riserva Vigna Cinque Querce, the estate’s top wine). Still simply splendid (and also still very young), this Taurasi finishes very suave and long, with lingering nuances of savory botanical herbs, tobacco and volcanic minerals. The 1992 is drinking beautifully now so there’s not much to gain by holding on to it any longer, but it can still age effortlessly for a few more years in a good cellar. 91/Drinking Window: 2015-2020.

- Ian D'Agata