www.macaricovini.it

It’s difficult to meet the sixth generation of a family-owned winery and not make a connection between the person, the history, and the wine.  When I visited Basilicata for two weeks in late 2009 I visited more than 20 wineries and in so doing got the measure of this ancient DOCG.  Like everywhere in Italy there’s a tug-of-war between tradition and innovation and it’s pretty easy to tell where loyalties lie.  The door to Rino Botte’s winery is a door set in the hillside which does a good job of setting out his stall.  Inside there’s a labyrinthine basalt cellar complete with an ancient ‘lagar’ hewn from the side of Monte Vulture that continues the theme.  But there’s also stainless steel.  And new oak.   And although Rino Botte is part of the fabric of Basilicata and his family have made wine in Barile for generations his adoption of technology is a slow and deliberate process designed not to enhance, rather than eradicate, the region’s potential.  His 5 ha of vineyards nestle under the shadow of Mount Vulture and the combination of extremely late harvests (first week of November) and high density plantings (9600 vines per ha) result in what I consider to be the DOC’s finest wine: Aglianico del Vulture ‘Macarcio’ DOC.  The name of the estate - and Rino’s best vineyard - derives from the Greek meaning ‘he who is blessed’ and there’s no doubting our good fortune to have discovered this estate.  The ‘Rosso del Volcano’ is a little something that Rino has blended especially for us.  It’s a perfect introduction to the grape, to the region, and to Rino Botte.