Lacrymosa

Mastroberardino 2008 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso (Campania) – Deep, dusty, dark with a fresher exterior; this is a lot more impressive than I remember it being. There’s both good and bad in that impressiveness, though: there’s an incredible amount of appealing flavor, but there’s also a polish and slickness to it. It’s hard to deny the wine’s quality, but ultra-naturalista-hippiedynamic drinkers might turn up their dirt-infused noses. Not to tease or anything… (8/11)

Windmills

Il Tufiello 2007 Fiano “Don Chisciotte” (Campania) – An orange wine. What’s most interesting to me is how clearly both the waxiness and textural impact of the grape and the dust of the region shine though the layers of tactility provided by extended skin contact. The tannin here is present but quite manageable within the wine’s overall balance, and acidity hasn’t been completely lost, so the end result is something a little brighter and fresher than the orange norm. It’s not as complex as some, but it’s a simple pleasure. (3/11)

Oh, Sole mio

La Grotta del Sole 2009 Gragnano della Penisola Sorrentina (Campania) – Strawberry soda pop with a little bite of tannin. Finishes green and somewhat dirty. This is not my favorite from the ever-more-frequently-imported rose-colored froth category. (11/10)

Carrying a torcia

Pietratorcia 2009 Ischia Bianco Superiore (Campania) – Sour lime, green apple, and saline solution. Gets right to the point, but then there isn’t any sort of coda. (11/10)

Fo fo fella

Pietratorcia 2009 Ischia Bianco Biancolella (Campania) – Papery. Grape skins. Not very interesting. (11/10)

Kevin

Pietratorcia 2008 Ischia Bianco Superiore Vigne del Cuotto (Campania) – A softened version of the previous two wines, and bringing a lot more interest along with its mellow: ash, chalk, and dried lemon rind. Quite long, in stark contrast to its younger brethren. Interesting. (11/10)

Eating Paestum

De Conciliis 2004 Paestum “Antece” Fiano (Campania) – The skin-bitterness and inexorable textural impact of the orange wine set gets a chalky/waxy interpretation here, mingling acid and something slightly reminiscent of Rainier cherries but deeper and more metallurgic. Really fascinating. I’m not much of a fan of De Conciliis, across the range, but this one wine makes up for the disappointments. (8/10)

Paestum to the wall

de Conciliis 2008 Fiano “Paestum Donnaluna” (Campania) – Heady, edging up to the precipice of lurid, then pulling back just enough to remain a beverage rather than an artifact. Wax, gravel, herb, and seed combine for both texture and aroma, and while there’s the requisite ashen undertone, it’s layered with structure and richness beyond the usual (5/10)

Mrs. Moon

de Conciliis 2008 Cilento Fiano “Donnaluna” (Campania) – Boring and alcohol-dominated. While there’s some simplistic ashen, waxy throb underneath the booze, it would take an awful lot of wine to surmount this much heat. (5/10)

Spock, mind-meld with the big pizza blob thing

d’Orta e de Conciliis 2008 Falanghina del Beneventano (Campania) – Aggressive citrus-aisle fruit, with a little too much alcohol and a lot too much polish. Never goes anywhere. I feel like it’s trying to say something, but I can’t comprehend anything interesting given all the shouting. (5/10)

Longoria

San Francesco 2008 Costa d’Amalfi “per eva” (Campania) – A blend of falanghina, pepella, and ginestra. Sounds more like an opera than a wine, to me. Anyway, it’s a touch spritzy, full of lime and lemongrass, with a surprising chalkiness that sneaks up, takes over for a moment, and then skitters away. Sour bones of structure and pale decay clutter up the finish. Very interesting. (3/10)

Oppida opp opp, Oppida opp opp, look at greco go

Oppida Aminea “Caucino” 2005 Greco Sannio (Campania) – Ashen and somewhat oxidized…not, I think, unintentionally…and thus the wine flows more like lava than like water across the palate. Bronzed carnations, perhaps? Like drinking ruins. (1/10)

Radici, or radon'tci?

Mastroberardino 2004 Fiano di Avellino “Radici” (Campania) – Wax and dust, beehive and bone. Mild-mannered and only medium in length, but refreshing and nice. (8/09)

Ain't that Tufo 'nuf?

Mastroberardino 2004 Greco di Tufo “Nova Serra” (Campania) – Dried-out fruit over ash. Short, a little acrid, and disappointing. (8/09)

Antece subject

de Conciliis 2004 “Antece” (Campania) – Bitter almond soap with the texture of a whiteout blizzard, and a little sherried throughout. Simple and direct. (7/09)

Rene

Russo Nocino (Campania) – Pretty straightforward…dark walnut, sweet and sticky, with hints of cocoa and old wood. Very tasty. (6/09)

Lacryma of passion

Mastroberardino 2000 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio (Campania) – Very aromatic, though both the nose and palate are in danger of being overwhelmed by the wine’s signature volcanic ash, and the texture is pretty much all Vesuvian at this point. Dark, small-berry fruit fills in the corners. I’m not sure I’d hold this any longer. (12/08)

Diana

Mastroberardino 1995 Taurasi “Radici” (Campania) – Cashews. The texture, which I expect to be a little wrenched and puckery, is frankly gorgeous, and the balance of earths – including earth-laden fruit of the darkest, broodiest kind – is lovely. (9/08)

Radici salad

Mastroberardino 2000 Fiano di Avellino Radici (Campania) – Ash and old, dusty wind. Light, with fading residual intensity, and dry as a desert. A bit of lemon rind? One hour later, air has helped a lot: minerals and foamy seashells emerge, the finish lengthens, and the overall impact grows more powerful. Still, drink up. (2/08)

Sannio electronics

Feudi di San Gregorio 2005 Sannio “Falanghina” (Campania) – Fruity. Lime, grapefruit, and great acidity, but turning weirdly synthetic on the finish. (2/07)