Quintodecimo
Proprietor Luigi Moio continues to set the bar high - very high - at his small property in Campania. Moio's rich textured whites and red are among the most exciting wines being made in Italy today. I never miss a chance to drink them and neither should you. ANTONIO GALLONI, Feb 2013
Nothing like these has ever come out of Campania before; the wines are unbelievably intense without being heavy or cloying, displaying such deep, vivid varietal and terroir character. Frighteningly good wines. JUSTERINI & BROOKS
After listening to Luigi Moio talk about his Quintodecimo estate for 45 minutes I already knew the wines would be great. I quickly realise that the pre-visit articles I’ve read have not exaggerated and the excitement I had felt from those reviewers is now easy to understand. He speaks with a passion and command of his topic that’s hard to resist.
Quintodecimo is one of the most remarkable estates in Italy and certainly must be the greatest estate in Campania. Situated in the Irpina sub-zone about 40 minutes east of Naples the estate is the brainchild of famed oenologist/professor/thinker, Luigi Moio. The estate’s genesis came a little over 10 years ago and represents the fruition of Moio’s life’s work in wine. The son of one of Campania’s better producing families, Moio’s career fanned out from there to include a long stint learning and making wine in France followed by various winemaking consultancies for many of the current accepted stars of the region. Despite his growing status within Campania and the world (by this stage he was guesting at international wine conferences talking about his research work) he was frustrated with the local industry’s reluctance to really embrace the highest levels of quality in favour of more expedient and cost efficient outcomes. And so, Quintodecimo was born; a 10 hectare property at Mirabella Eclano.
The home estate covers 12 hectares and is planted exclusively to Aglianico from which he makes a Tarausi Riserva (Vigna Quintodecimo) and a straight Aglianico (Terra d'Eclano). These two reds are the greatest expressions of this noble variety I have ever seen. His painstaking efforts in the vineyard to control yields and his fanatical attention to creating balance between tannins and fruit receive full reward for effort in the wines and the sometimes rustic tannins of the variety are subsumed more seamlessly than one would think possible based on previous bottles from other producers.
But, if the the reds are "best in show" then the whites are perhaps even more surprising for the levels of quality he achieves. The three whites are all hewn from indigenous varieties, Falanghina, Fiano and Greco di Tufo and from inididual vineyards at varying altitudes; the highest being for the Greco at 500+ metres. Without desceding into hyperbole these wines are breathtaking, not least because they redefine an understanding of the level of quality that can be achieved with these varieties, and make you realise that other examples are in fact relatively sloppy renderings when compared to these wines. The level of flavour and aromatic purity create vivid impressions of the variety and where they're grown and despite holding large amounts of weight the wines are in fact, relatively light on their feet and energetic. In short they are world class white wine.
Nothing like these has ever come out of Campania before; the wines are unbelievably intense without being heavy or cloying, displaying such deep, vivid varietal and terroir character. Frighteningly good wines. JUSTERINI & BROOKS
After listening to Luigi Moio talk about his Quintodecimo estate for 45 minutes I already knew the wines would be great. I quickly realise that the pre-visit articles I’ve read have not exaggerated and the excitement I had felt from those reviewers is now easy to understand. He speaks with a passion and command of his topic that’s hard to resist.
Quintodecimo is one of the most remarkable estates in Italy and certainly must be the greatest estate in Campania. Situated in the Irpina sub-zone about 40 minutes east of Naples the estate is the brainchild of famed oenologist/professor/thinker, Luigi Moio. The estate’s genesis came a little over 10 years ago and represents the fruition of Moio’s life’s work in wine. The son of one of Campania’s better producing families, Moio’s career fanned out from there to include a long stint learning and making wine in France followed by various winemaking consultancies for many of the current accepted stars of the region. Despite his growing status within Campania and the world (by this stage he was guesting at international wine conferences talking about his research work) he was frustrated with the local industry’s reluctance to really embrace the highest levels of quality in favour of more expedient and cost efficient outcomes. And so, Quintodecimo was born; a 10 hectare property at Mirabella Eclano.
The home estate covers 12 hectares and is planted exclusively to Aglianico from which he makes a Tarausi Riserva (Vigna Quintodecimo) and a straight Aglianico (Terra d'Eclano). These two reds are the greatest expressions of this noble variety I have ever seen. His painstaking efforts in the vineyard to control yields and his fanatical attention to creating balance between tannins and fruit receive full reward for effort in the wines and the sometimes rustic tannins of the variety are subsumed more seamlessly than one would think possible based on previous bottles from other producers.
But, if the the reds are "best in show" then the whites are perhaps even more surprising for the levels of quality he achieves. The three whites are all hewn from indigenous varieties, Falanghina, Fiano and Greco di Tufo and from inididual vineyards at varying altitudes; the highest being for the Greco at 500+ metres. Without desceding into hyperbole these wines are breathtaking, not least because they redefine an understanding of the level of quality that can be achieved with these varieties, and make you realise that other examples are in fact relatively sloppy renderings when compared to these wines. The level of flavour and aromatic purity create vivid impressions of the variety and where they're grown and despite holding large amounts of weight the wines are in fact, relatively light on their feet and energetic. In short they are world class white wine.
