Aglianico Melon de Bourgogne Sangiovese 12 Ship Free Items
Aglianico is a black skinned grape most commonly associated with the exquisite wines of the Campania region of Italy. It thrives most happily in hot and dry climates, and as such, has had plenty of success in the New World, particularly in the United States, where it is used to great effect in many red wines. It was believed to come from Greece several thousand years ago, brought by Pheonician tradesman, and was wildly popular in Roman times, when it was used in the finest wines made by the Roman empire. Aglianico grapes produce full bodied red wines which have a high tannin and acid content. As such, it has excellent ageing potential, and with a standard amount of time in a barrel, it rounds out and mellows to produce beautifully balanced wines.
One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.
Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.
The name of this grape, meaning 'blood of Jove' conjures up evocative images of long dead civilizations, and gives the Sangiovese varietal a sense of the holy, the sacred, the special. Indeed, this particular type of Italian grape has been cultivated and processed for thousands of years, and is said to be the original favorite grape varietal of the Romans, and the Etruscans before them. Throughout history, vintners have continued to plant this varietal, and they continue to produce wonderful wines to this day. The long bunches of very dark, round fruit are treasured by fine wineries in Italy and a few other places around the world, and when young, these grapes are lively – full of strawberry flavors and a little spiciness. However, it is when they are aged in oak that they take on some truly special flavors and aromas, as seen in some of the finest wines of the Old World.