Reale wine on the Amalfi coast

The winery of Luigi Reale was a real discovery.  It raised my expectations of wine made in a world-famous beauty spot, in this case the Amalfi Coast of Campania.  All of the essential components of interesting wine are present: good land, indigenous grapes of singular character and the informed intuition of the winemaker. 

Located in the village of Gete in the larger commune of Tramonti a few winding miles from the sea, Azienda Agricola Reale Andrea, is situated on a very steep 2.5 hectares on two small plots.  The elevation is roughly 450-500 meters, which makes the microclimate a good deal cooler (even snowy) than at the coast. 

The varieties grown are, for the most part, very local and correspondingly rare: Biancazita, Biancolella and Pepella for the white; Piedirosso and Tintore for the reds and the rosato.  Granted, Biancolella and Piedirosso aren't rare in Campania, but the others are.  Luigi is ardent in his affection for Tintore, which is a subvariety of Aglianico; its perfume and its flavor, with some time in bottle, are to me reminiscent of Burgundy -- reminiscent, that is, not a sort of faux-Burgundy.  Reale's wines aren't trying to be a version of anything else.  But the best can evoke associations with other wines that possess complexity and ageability.

A great deal of this has to do with the great age of the vines, as is shown in the picture above.  One vineyard is composed of century-old vines of Tintore.  A walk through this green-farmed plot (less than a hectare) takes you to a vineyard that looks and feels different from the orderly rows of younger vines trained in the Guyot style, which also exist on Luigi's larger, slightly lower and steeper plot.  The old-vine Borgo di Gete terreno looks like a vestige of a tradition, and under the watchful eye of Fortunato Sebastiano (the enologo and agronomo) there is a balance between tradition and contemporary practices of strict yield management and chemical-free vine management.

The proof of these good intentions is, of course, in the tasting.  We tasted, and later drank, each of Luigi's four wines.  Descriptions and impressions can be found in the continuation.

Another view of the Borgo di Gete vineyard

 

Part of the lower vineyard -- very
little room for expansion

Up there?  Maybe Reale vines one day

Luigi Reale inspects Fortunato's work.  He likes to say that he is one of the "fortunati" (lucky ones) to have Fortunato as his enologo and vineyard manager.

Reale produces one white, a rose' and two reds.

Aliseo 2007 IGT

This is the white wine, which is named for the sea breeze that keeps the vineyards well ventilated and preserves them from excessive heat much of the time.  (The property faces southwest.)

We tasted three vintages, and the 2007 (just bottled) was the freshest and most appealing, as you'd expect.  Made of 40% each Biancolella and Biancazita with 20% of a very obscure but peppery and lively Pepella, this 12%-strength wine is full of citrus with a somewhat smoky, caramel nose.  About 30% of this one is oak-fermented, which accounts for this warm, rich character.  We found this to be very versatile with the local dishes from Luigi's restaurant "Osteria Reale." 

Getis 2007

This rose' is made of 80% Piedirosso and 20% Tintore.  The 2007 is at 13%, dry and balanced with acidity that makes it an excellent food wine.  Strawberries and plums predominate in the nose and on the palate.  A delicious and versatile wine that sells out completely at Luigi's osteria. The total production is about 1000 bottles. 

Cardamone 2006

Made with the same blend of Piedirosso and Tintore as Getis, the 2006 will be released in the fall.  Its special character leaps out at you even in this still very young vintage.  Rich, peppery notes combine with  zesty black-cherry to create a compulsively drinkable wine that goes well with a wide range of foods and is, I think, delicious on its own.  The smokiness in the Getis is much more pronounced here.  Cardamone sees no wood, by the way, so the smoke is a function of grape and soil.  The 80-90-plus year old vines do their bit.  This is sensational wine that I could drink every day.  Copiously.

We tried two other vintages.  The 2005 was the first under the tutelage of Fortunato Sebastiano (Luigi can be credited with "discovering" him -- he was Fortunato's first client after he left Bruno DeConciliis' employ to strike out on his own) and its pleasure quotient is a bit reduced.  Perhaps in part a function of the year's weather, it probably also reflects an earlier stage of managing vinification.  The 2007 tank sample is still young and "under development", though I think it will be fine stuff by the time it's released in 2009.

Borgo di Gete 2005

This is 100% Tintore that's been in first-passage oak, half in tonneaux and half in barrique.  The wine weighs in at 13% happiness.  Newly released, this needs a year or two more before its extraordinary fruit and "organoleptics" harmonize.  "Tintore" suggests color and depth, and it was used by local farmers in the old days to add color and heft to other varieties.  Reale's Tintore in purezza has a deep almost plummy color yet manages to be clear, no muddiness at all.  This vintage possesses an earthy nose that really is reminiscent of Burgundy, although there the similarities cease.  This is no disparagement of Borgo di Gete; it's an acknowledgment of its complex individuality.  I'll be very interested to see how it evolves over the next few years.

Cantina is very small too

As you can imagine, the production of the ancient vines is small and the price of Borgo di Gete is high to match.  For an appassionato of rare varieties and old-vine wines, this would be worth the expenditure (about 40 euros at Luigi's restaurant).

I enjoyed my stay at Luigi's osteria -- the few rooms available are large and airy with beautiful views of the vineyards and hills all around -- and I appreciated the chance to taste each of the wines at two days' worth of meals.  And it's a different world from the tangled tourist crush at the seafront.

 

                                A view from one of the rooms.  Note Byzantine-influenced church in background.

Comments

[David J]

True vine-geek porn! The old pergola vineyards remind me of Galicia. Down here, 'parrales', I hazard, served the purpose of proctecting grapes somewhat from the violent hailstorms. Some endure, some are being torn down. Hans, my transplanted Belgian host, is starting to set Eucalyptus posts for a hectare of traditionally trained Malbec parrales as of tomorrow.

[TH]

I have so many more. They make me HAP-PY to look at.

The pergolas also protect from the intense sunlight. In fact, a winemaker in Valpolicella told me that by converting to Guyot they are experiencing much more burning of the fruit. Sometimes the old ways were better...and for a reason!

[michele colline]

Amazing place, infatti. We've been a couple of times(to the Amalfi coast, that is)and the agriturismo where we stayed actually grew the vines OUT of the stone walls over the top of the pergolas in order to save the flat ground underneath for planting crops. I had never seen that before.

[fredric koeppel]

great post. are you bringing these wines to the U.S.?

[Marco]

That first picture of the 1,000 year old vine should be blown up and mounted!

[TH]

Thanks but the vine's only 100 years old.

As David wrote in his comment, this is like wine geek porn. Absolutely.

[George Bush]

REALE WINE IS FANTASTIC.........................GOOD

VISIT WEB SITE http://aziendaagricolareale.it

[Terry Hughes]

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that George Bush is none other than Luigi Reale himself, proudly creating his own spam for mondosapore.

Grazie, Gigi. We are honored by your sarcastic reference to our unbeloved president.