Basilicata was last viewed as the centre of the universe when Frederick II ruled the roost in the 13^th century.  Since then it’s been gently snoozing whilst the rest of the world got to grips with passing fancies like the internal combustion engine and semiconductors.  In wine terms Basilicata is, like the Abruzzo, a one-horse region with just one DOCG of note: Aglianico del Vulture.  I’d heard about it but I suppose I had been brainwashed by the good folk next door in Campania into believing that Taurasi was the real home of the south’s most aristocratic red.  Archaeology suggests otherwise.  Aglianico was introduced into Magnae Graecia but it soon fled to higher ground away from the iron-rich soils of Puglia.  Monte Vulture is the highest point inland from the Puglian coast and Aglianico settled here before it wandered west into the similarly volcanic soils of Campania.  The pine trees in amongst the vineyards serve as a useful reminder that one’s almost a kilometre above sea level.

Basilicata Estate Details...