An absolutely stunning Fiano

It was a pleasure to welcome the exceptionally knowledgeable and, one might add, rather well dressed, Matteo from one of our specialist Italian suppliers to Fourth & Church a couple of weeks ago. They specialise in Italian wines from small, family owned artisan winemakers. Matteo brought us several new and unusual wines for us to taste, we were in for a treat. 

Starting with a fresh and elegant Valle Reale Trebbanio d‘Abruzzo, throughout the afternoon our senses were guided from the coasts of Abbruzzo, across the Apennine mountains and rolling hills of Tuscany to the foothills of the Alps in Northern Piedmont, and crisscrossing our way back to finish on the deep, concentrated Antolini Recioto della Valpolicella. All were outstanding, however, one in particular has continued to stay with me.

Pierluigi Zampaglione only produces one wine; the ‘Don Chiscotte’, which goes some way to explain what an absolute joy it is. The 2018 vintage is intense and golden in the glass, complex perfumes of bergamot, jasmine and orange peel with some nuttiness lead onto a surprisingly savoury palate of waxy oranges, almonds and notes of earl grey and spice. Slight tannins provide structure and body but are balanced with a minerality. The finish of lavender honey continued to linger on the palate long after Matteo had finished talking us through how it came to be. 

Originally tomato and grain farmers, the Zampaglione family farm was one of the first in Southern Italy to convert to organic practices in 1990. In 2002, the family tried something brave and new, planting one plot of the Fiano grape and in 2004 the ‘Don Chiscotte’ was created. The traditional name for the Fiano grape variety is ‘Vitis apiana’, the translation means ‘the vine beloved of bees’, you can understand why they are so attracted to it. 

The biodynamically farmed vineyards are in Alta Irpinia, at 800 meters above sea level and grown in volcanic and clay soils. The grapes are carefully hand harvested from three separate parcels before being taken to the winery where they undergo an extended maceration on their skins for 10 days. Spontaneous fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks without any temperature control using indigenous yeasts before resting on the lees. The wine is not fined or filtered before bottling. This is how complexity, texture and body have been created, maximising the varietal flavours and aromas yet still retaining freshness. 

In a world where travel is currently limited and new experiences hard to come by, the passionate stories behind each of these wines with the aromas filling my nose and wine coating my mouth, I was transported, just for a little while, to a spot in dappled shade overlooking cypress trees on a hillside, birdsong and cicadas in my ear and the sun gently warming my skin. I’ll drink to that.