2001 Bocca di Lupo

Swansong of old vines planted in the 1980s before Antinori investment. They included 10% Cabernet to 'tame' the Aglianico. 2001 was a great vintage but tough for them at the time because the winery was incomplete and they had to use a mobile vinification area that lacked technology – very important for this variety, explained brand manager Vito Palumbo. Deep garnet with a touch of brick at the rim, but really remarkably dark colour for a 15-year-old wine. Very straight dark fruit, a touch of blackcurrant on the nose and lots of spice, touch of pepper, but a really rich, thick dense elixir of blackberry, and savoury on the palate, some liquorice too. Very youthful with a little bit of black olive but still so much fruit. Smells a little spirity as the alcohol is lifted by the slight volatility. The tannins are thick and grainy but rounded. Chocolate on the finish. With time in the glass: more balsamic and minty, almost spearmint. Deeply chewy and about as rounded as the 2011 is already. (JH)

The 2001 Bocca di Lupo is a wine which demonstrates that the Aglianico grown in the northwestern part of Puglia, just a short distance from the Basilicata, can compete with the best of Italy’s south. Smoky and balsamic on the nose with intense and expansive notes of raspberries and blackberries, cloves, mint, and high-roast coffee, its packed, strappingly muscular, and dense flavors continue in a seamless flow over the palate, softening as they move but still totally mouth-filling and explosively powerful. The only regret is that these wines are released too early and will probably be drunk too early as well – this is a bottle which I would not touch until 2007, and it will still be going strong in 2020. Note: These wines are sold under the brand name Tormaresca in the American marketplace. Importer: Remy Amerique, New York, NY; tel. (212) 399-4200