D'Angelo Aglianico Canneto Basilicata 2016

AGLIANICO! If you have not yet experienced this deep, dark, floral, savory, ringingly pure, thunderous beauty – it’s time to try it while we still have it! 93 points, just now entering its prime at the decade mark, and a mere $19.95 on two or more.

This is a lot of wine for the price. It really takes you somewhere. One glass will pull you down a magical corridor with delicious contrasts at every turn – and land you on the slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Vulture, where the fruit was grown! This is strangely easy to pair with meals – seems to go with almost everything.

Aglianico is one of Italy's most ancient noble grapes, and the D'Angelo family is exceptionally adept at coaxing its brooding-yet-lifted character into top form. Black Mission figs and wild red cherries are served up with lashings of sandalwood, coffee beans, iron ore, and rugged underbrush. Bright lemon and florals dance with fine-flecked acid. The chalky tannins are a perfect contrast to the bell-like shine of black fruits. 

The Tasting Panel awarded this bottle 93 points for its “high-toned savory dried rose petals, licorice, charcuterie notes, and red fruit leather.” Wine Enthusiast praised the “great balance here between plushness and restraint.”

The D'Angelos are in their fourth generation of winemaking in the Basilicata region, and they produced this 2016 Canneto from 45-year-old vines thriving in the mountain's cool weather and super-fine soils. The name “Canneto” refers to the tall reeds (“canne”) that grow wild in the area, which are cut and dried, then used to train the vines. How can something this cool be under $20?!

You can cellar this bottle for 20 more years, but we love it now, especially after decanting. Order at least two for the volcano-steep price drop.